Discharged
by smartkid37
Summary: One careless moment leads to a fight for both the life of one agent and the career of another. Written for the "Ready, Aim, Misfire, Oops" Challenge on NFA.
1. Chapter 1

_Surreal_: _Having __the__ disorienting, hallucinatory quality of a dream. _

_10:15 PM - Monday_

This _was_ surreal. It could only be a dream because it was way too bizarre to be anything else. This kind of stuff only happened in movies like one of Tony's stupid cult classics; or unforgettable westerns. Just NOT in real life! NO! It was those stupid, relentless movie references that had brought this whole thing about to begin with! Tony and his never ending, weird need to always spend his time _trying _to emulate some actor from a scene in the movies that he couldn't go a day without living in. Then, when the whole world turned on its head and shook them all mercilessly and without warning, they stopped…

Pacing. Endless pacing mixed with boundless worry and anger so hot that it threatened to burn the whole damn place to the ground now as it steadily built. The relentless, deepening fear while the waiting continued, fueled his every step and even the endless supply of anger driven questions that rang through his mind of their own accord added fuel to the inferno burning in his soul.

_How could something so stupid happen right under his nose?_

_What the hell had the guy been thinking? What the hell was WRONG with that kid?_

_How the hell could anybody survive something like this?_

So many questions permeated through the images of the past few hours but there was one that truly tugged at his heart; one question that he couldn't answer…

_Will things ever be the same again?_

_*****NCIS*****_

_6:45 AM - Three and a half hours earlier _

"Good morning, Gibbs." Ziva greeted as she entered the squad room and settled in behind her desk fifteen minutes before the start of the work day. The Boss was already sitting behind his desk working through a file and his grunted greeting made her shake her head with a small smile. Seeing Tim walk in from the back of the room, she greeted him as well. "Good morning, McGee."

"Morning, Ziva." Tim returned cheerfully as he sat down with his coffee and Danish that he'd just brought from the break room.

Fifteen minutes later and Ziva had just finished going through her own email. She glanced up and grinned at the sight of Tim perusing his own emails while listening to his voicemails off his desk phone simultaneously.

"How do you do that?" Ziva asked him curiously. It was a well known joke that men couldn't multitask, but Tim was a completely different story.

Through the loud 'ding' of the arriving elevator, Tim smiled in response needing to listen to what he was hearing, but he did stop his typing for the moment, turning to her when he could put his phone down at last. "It took me a long time to get the hang of it, Ziva."

"Get the hang of what, Probie?" Tony asked as he sauntered into the squad room, throwing his bag down on the floor before quickly sitting down at his desk.

"You're late." Gibbs pointed out to his Senior Field Agent without even looking up from his work as he spoke for the first time since Ziva's arrival in the squad room.

"Sorry, Boss." Tony offered quickly.

"Don't…"

"Apologize, I know, Boss. Won't happen again."

"I know. Cold cases DiNozzo! But clean out that filing cabinet, first. It's not a wardrobe!" Gibbs issued the orders as he snatched up his coffee cup and headed out for a refill of his ever present caffeine.

"Great, just great." Tony mumbled before turning to see Gibbs standing right behind him. He couldn't help but wonder how the guy did that, and nodded. "On it, Boss." He waited till Gibbs had really gone before turning towards his next target. "Hey, Probie, seen any good movies lately?" Tony taunted as he sidled up to Tim's desk with a sly grin.

"No, Tony. Besides, whatever movie I might have seen, wouldn't pass your critique, so why would I tell you about it anyway?" Tim asked pointedly as he kept his attention firmly on his computer screen.

"C'mon, Probie! Didn't you watch any of the 'The Duke' this weekend during the John Wayne movie marathon on the Classic Westerns Channel?"

"No." McGee answered dully with a small sigh. He could pretty much predict what was coming next and braced himself for the pointless movie trivia montage that was sure to ensue.

"NO! What did you do all weekend Elf Lord? Play your on line games and pretend you're the hero of the hour? The Duke was a man's man, Probie. He's worthy of our respect." Tony huffed.

McGee's next sigh was loud and annoyed. "No, sorry, I just don't share your enthusiasm for it, DiNozzo. Believe it or not, I have better things to do with my weekends."

"Sorry don't get it done, Dude." Tony answered in his best John Wayne accent. "John T. Chance, Rio Bravo!"

"Oh! Or this one." Tony stood with his feet apart and his head tilted to the side as he continued on undaunted by Tim's lack of enthusiasm "A lot of guys make mistakes, I guess, but every one we make, a whole stack of chips goes with it."

"We make a mistake, and some guy don't walk away - forevermore, he don't walk away." Tony's smile lit up the room, "Sergeant John M. Stryker, Sands of Iwo Jima."

McGee answered with a shake of his head and a clipped "Seems a little overacted to me."

"'I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I expect the same from them.' John Bernard Books, The Shootist"

"Tony…." McGee started to throw out yet another objection with a heavy sigh knowing that it would soon be run roughshod over by the over-excited class clown aka _Very __Special_ Agent Anthony DiNozzo...Tim huffed a small laugh at the mental sarcasm that spat the word 'very' out in his mind.

"Jeez McDukehater, you haven't even heard some of the best ones yet. 'Well, there are some things a man just can't run away from.' Ringo Kid, Stagecoach or this one, 'I don't guess people's hearts got anything to do with a calendar.' Hondo Lane, now that was one cool dude."

"Tony…" Tim reached up and started to massage his temples because if Tony carried on the way he was, this was going to be a long day.

"'All battles are fought by scared men who'd rather be someplace else.' Capt. Rockwell Torrey, In Harm's Way."

Gibbs returned to his desk after settling for a cup of the crap they called coffee from the break room. As he walked in, he heard a little of what Tony was taunting Tim with and shook his head but something stirred deep in his gut as he sat down and he couldn't help the feeling of uneasiness that settled there; it was a feeling that something bad was about to happen to his team but he couldn't quite put his finger on it because come on, they were still at NCIS. What could possibly happen to them there?

"Tony."

Gibbs shook his head but smiled to himself at annoyed tone coming from Tim. He just knew that the younger man was gritting his teeth and if experience had taught him anything over the years as the head of this crew, it was that the kid could finally give as good as he got with Tony. Tim McGee wasn't the green Probie anymore and had grown into someone that Gibbs was proud to call his agent, just as the boss had anticipated way back when.

"Oh, oh this is my favorite one of all. 'This kind of war, you've gotta believe in what you're fighting for.' Colonel Madden, Back to Bataan." Tony prattled on as he opened his desk drawer with one hand while reaching to pick his weapon up off his desk with the other. It was a ritual with them all, that when they came in, they locked their weapons away in their drawers for safe keeping until they were needed.

"Tony!" Tim exclaimed angrily as he turned in his chair and glared at the Senior Field Agent. "Enough! Alright? Jeez!"

"You know, McWhiney" Tony said. "You just can't handle ..."

**BOOM!**

The deafening sound of a gunshot resounded through the squad room drowning out all other noise and causing more than a few of the early birds to drop down behind their desks.

"Oh, God. Boss I'm…I…God I'm so sorry." Tony profusely apologized as he stared at his weapon with wide eyes and a shocked expression on his face. The offending gun was now sitting innocuously on the floor after slipping from Tony's grasp .

Gibbs glared dangerously at his Senior Field Agent and rose angrily from his chair, standing ramrod straight and statuesque with sheer fury as he barked out, "DiNozzo! Why the hell wasn't the damn safety on that thing?"

"McGee!" Ziva cried out as she ran to the ashen faced figure of her teammate. She had briefly been distracted by Gibbs yelling at Tony, but when she looked over to Tim, she saw the blood drain out of his face and saw his green eyes glazed over with pain. She barely reached him as he toppled from his chair but caught him before he could fall into a boneless heap on the floor. He'd lost a of weight over the past couple of years, but he was still bigger than Ziva and he very nearly took her down with him.

The newest Probie of the team managed to ease her teammate's descent to the floor before looking at his pain strewn face once more. She placed a hand on his clammy, cold cheek and knew that shock had started to set in.

"GIBBS!" Ziva desperately called out. She had no idea if the boss had actually seen what had happened but she wasn't taking that chance and needed his help now.

"McGee…Tim. Are you alright? Tim, can you hear me?" Ziva asked quietly but all she got a hitch of his breath and a short shake of his head. His face contorted with sheer agony and she glanced down to see his white shirt already crimson red in a large circle. It was steadily becoming larger by the minute but what scared the second most stoic member of the team, was that the blood pouring through was right over his heart.

"Get Ducky!" Gibbs barked out from right beside her, where he'd quickly stepped over to his fallen agent to help. He gently supported Tim's frame and asked her to scoot back so that they could lay him flat and between them, they managed to get him into better position to do what had to be done. Gibbs whipped round and opened the bottom drawer so he could grab one of the shirts Tony kept in there. With a narrowed eye towards the offending agent, he pushed down on Tim's wound and applied the pressure that was needed. "Easy Tim. I know it hurts, but I gotta do this…Ziva, call 911!"

All the panicked, raised voices drowned out the pain filled moan from their wounded colleague. Tim was now fighting for every agonizing breath he took as Gibbs continued to apply pressure on his wound to stem the bleeding as best he could.

"Ducky! Need you up here, NOW!" Tony yelled into the phone, too panicked and upset to worry about the tone or volume of his shaky voice. Gibbs glanced up briefly at his senior agent and shook his head at the way he was pacing with his phone to his ear. Ziva swore in Hebrew and started to tap Tim's face because his eyes had just barely opened and closed so quickly she'd almost missed it.

"No you don't. Come on Tim. Open your eyes for me. Easy now, you can do it." Gibbs urged firmly and increased the pressure to the wound hoping that the pain would keep his agent awake. "Let me see that you're still with us, Tim."

Tim's eyes fluttered and finally opened and looked at the older man. "B...oss. Zi…wha…? Tim manged to croak as he grimaced and shifted as if trying to get away from the pain.

"Attaboy, McGee. Stay with me, alright? I know it's hard, but you gotta try." Gibbs offered him what he hoped was enough encouragement to keep Tim with him. He made sure to hold the young man's gaze so that his fallen agent could focus on him rather than the pain.

"Try." Tim offered through a ragged breath and squeezed his eyes shut when the pain doubled for his efforts.

"Don't even think of leaving us, McGee. You don't have permission to die. Not gonna happen, McGee. Do ya hear me?" Gibbs order was stern enough to be taken seriously, but still held a note of gentleness that didn't make it seem harsh. He wanted Tim to know that he wasn't going anywhere.

"K." Tim's eyes fluttered closed as his breathing hitched and the pain that was etched in those young, boyish featured seemed to leech away when his head fell sideways.

"No, McGee! Stay with me!" Gibbs insisted sternly as he applied a touch more pressure, earning him another pain filled groan from the young man.

"That's it, Tim. Stay with me. I know it hurts, but we gotta stop the bleeding." Silence greeted his explanation and Gibbs swore loudly through his teeth. "NO! McGee! Wake up! Where the hell is Ducky and the paramedics?"

Ziva closed her cell phone with shaking hands and knelt back down beside Gibbs. "The ambulance is on the way." She turned and stood up to start clearing the way for medical team and Ducky "Tony, get some water." She suggested firmly as she opened her own and poured the liquid on a hand towel she kept in her desk. She leaned over her fallen teammate, quickly applying the now saturated towel to his forehead to try and provide some kind of soothing comfort by way of keeping him cool in the warm squad room.

"Ziva, he's going into shock and his body temp will drop." Gibbs said quietly and glanced up to see the worry about the error she had made. "I know it's warm in here, but he's losing blood. Keep that towel there, but grab my coat."

Ziva stood up and rushed over to where Gibbs kept his long, warm coat and hurried back. With a nod of encouragement from her boss, she draped the coat over Tim's still form and knelt back down next to Tim. "Tim, please hold on. You have chased down criminals and escaped injury, do not die from being somewhere safe."

Tony remained frozen in place, guilt and anguish clearly etched across his face. His eyes were glassy with tears he couldn't' hold back. He'd just shot his partner! Stepping back, he watched as one of the adjacent teams came over, took the offending weapon from the floor and placed in an evidence bag, sealing and signing it properly and then set about cordoning off the area. Everything they did was by the book but Tony knew it wasn't a slight against him, but simple procedure that had to be followed. Any accidental discharge of a fire arm has to be investigated. They all knew what to do and it was, in fact, a testament to their devotion to taking care of each other within the agency that they were acting so quickly to handle it professionally before the dust had even settled on the incident.

Unfortunately, incidents like this happened more than most law enforcement agencies ever admit to, but not all of them end with such heartbreaking results. It was one of the reasons that the way in which it was dealt with was paramount to the fairness and thoroughness of the investigation and whatever publicity would come from it. Even though Tony's mind was currently clouded with guilt and disbelief, it somehow filtered these random thoughts in as he watched what was going on.

He was starting to feel cold and shaky himself, but this wasn't the time and so he seemed to detach himself from his own feelings and watched the events unfold through what seemed like someone else's eyes. It was as if he was a stranger watching a movie scene unfold because this didn't happen in the real world. Partners don't shoot each other in the safe haven of their own office…well obviously they did because right now he was watching his Probie…no, his friend…fight for life because he'd been too dumb to check the safety and stop riling Tim with stupid movie quotes that held no meaning or importance.

The elevator dinged and Gibbs looked up to see Ducky and Jimmy hurrying through the squad room so that they could help. Both of them, professionally navigating their way through the chaos and quickly getting to work on Tim as Gibbs backed away just far enough to give them the space to work. Watching as the two medical professionals worked together to stem the flow of blood that had refused to stop, Gibbs struggled to his feet, his eyes never leaving the face of his fallen agent whose pallor was ghostly white. He breathed out a sigh of relief when Tim's lax face scrunched up in agony once more because if his boy was awake, then he was alive no matter how much pain he was in. He could deal with that; what he couldn't deal with was losing another one of his kids. Not like this. Not now. Not ever.

Ziva remained kneeling at Tim's shoulder as she firmly held his hand, while her other hand continued to wipe his face with the moistened towel. She kept her voice soft but constant in an effort to keep him focused and with them. She hoped that her words soothed him slightly, but deep down she just knew that they would probably have no effect on the way he was feeling. She wasn't even sure he could hear her; or at least she didn't when a gentle squeeze of her hand reminded her that she was so caught up in her thoughts that she'd stopped talking. She smiled softly at Tim and sighed.

"I am sorry. Do not give up, McGee. We are right here with you. We will get you taken care of and you will be just fine in a few days, all right?"

Tim groaned painfully and forced himself to open his eyes to find his boss' clear, blue eyes gazing down at him. Gibbs had kept himself in Tim's line of sight just in case he opened his eyes and needed something to ground him. "Sorry….B..oss."

"Save your strength, Timothy. You are struggling to breathe so please don't talk." Ducky urged soothingly and quickly glanced at the team leader. Gibbs nodded his agreement and the M.E. glanced at Tim while taking his blood pressure. "Besides, you have nothing to be sorry for dear boy. This is not your fault."

"Ducky's right, McGee." Gibbs told him quietly.

"Tell….T…ony….so…rry." Tim tried again to speak but the burning agony ripped into him with a vengeance as Jimmy silently and firmly applied a fresh towel to his wound. "AAAHHH!" he screamed.

"So sorry, Tim." Jimmy offered on a shaky breath.

"I know it's painful, lad and we are sorry, but we can't have you losing any more blood and what did I tell you about talking" Ducky soothed as he explained.

"OH MY GOD! TIMMY! WHAT HAPPENED?" Abby's piercing shriek was as painful for all of them as the pure agony clearly heard within it.

Tony seemed to have been broken from his own frozen state of shock at Abby's arrival, taking the half-dozen steps over to her so he could pull her into a firm, comforting embrace. He held her tightly as tears continued to pool in his guilt ridden eyes.

"It's my fault, Abby. I was careless and stupid. My gun slipped, hit the floor and went off."

"You shot Timmy?" Abby cried in horror and pulled back to glare at Tony accusingly. Pure fury flowed through her and she drew her arm back to strike out at the person that had hurt her best friend.

"ABBY!" Gibbs growled in her ear as he grabbed her arm and held onto it before she could use it. "You need to calm down. It was an accident! Even McGee knows that."

"Gibbs!" Abby cried as she dropped her hand and buried her head in his shoulder, crying out her hurt and worry for her friend.

"Medics are on their way up." Vance's voice came from just behind Gibbs, his voice was solemn and non-judgmental, and filled with both compassion and concern for both the injured and the emotionally distraught people in front of him.

Tony looked up and locked eyes with Director Vance asking silently if he could go to the hospital with Tim. Vance didn't answer and watched as the paramedics arrived and ran over to Tim to start assessing him and preparing him for transport.

With time being of the essence, it was mere minutes, before the team of medics along with Ducky and Jimmy were hurrying back toward the elevator with Tim strapped to the gurney. An iv had been inserted into the hand on the side he had been shot, whilst the other arm was strapped to his side, keeping him from removing either the oxygen mask from his face or fighting the hands now holding the temporary bandaging on his wound in place. Once the elevator doors closed behind the medics and Tim, Gibbs, Ziva and Abby bolted for the stairs, not willing to wait for the elevator to come back up for them.

"What are you waiting for? Go on!" Vance finally answered Tony's request. "We'll meet up there. Be prepared to answer some very difficult questions about your weapon being unsecured inside of this building, Agent DiNozzo!" Turning to the Agent that had been silently standing by witnessing the entire drama, Vance barked out his next order. "Agent Colburn go with him, get his preliminary statement at the hospital. By the book, people!"

Tony nodded his thanks and silently turned to follow Colburn, his face awash in guilt and worry for the person that had become not only his colleague, but one of his closest friends over the years. His little brother_. _

_God, please don't let him die!_


	2. Chapter 2

_11:30 AM Monday_

"Timothy McGee?" The clear yet obviously tired voice asked from the doorway to the waiting room, jolting Gibbs back from his pain-filled memory of what had happened in his own squad room, right in front of him, while he'd been; what? Helpless to stop it? No, not really; he could have cracked down on DiNozzo's antics, but, then again, Tony hadn't been doing anything 'wrong'; he'd simply made the mistake of allowing himself to become distracted while handling his weapon; even if he was simply putting that weapon way.

Quickly getting to his feet, the Team Leader led the way over to the doctor, hoping for good news, refusing to believe there'd be anything but for his agent. Glancing at his watch, he was startled to find that they'd been waiting for well over four long hours.

"That's us."

"Where is his family?"

"Still trying to reach them. Communication's patchy at best where they're on safari for the next week, according to their son's calendar. I'm his medical proxy, So is Dr. Mallard." Gibbs retorted as he nodded to Ducky who stood beside the Doctor at that moment.

"We are his family." Ziva reiterated.

"Please, just tell us, Timmy's okay! Tell us he's gonna be fine!" Abby begged as she held onto Gibbs as if he were the only thing holding her up at the moment.

"I'm afraid, it's not quite that simple, Abigail." Ducky informed them sadly from where he stood beside the doctor.

"Duck! Don't tell me he's not gonna make it!" Gibbs growled.

"Jethro, calm yourself, please! Let the good Doctor Murphy have his say."

"Let's all sit down. We might as well get comfortable so we can make sure we address everything you need to hear." Doctor Murphy encouraged.

"Thank you." Abby and Ziva offered in tandem, bringing slight smiles to both their faces for a second.

"Alright. Let me start by saying, Agent McGee is extremely lucky. A fraction of an inch to the right and you wouldn't be needing my services any longer."

Abby sucked in a breath, fresh tears filling her eyes at the realization of how close they'd just come to losing Timmy; as he'd sat at his own desk!

"Breathe, Abby." Ziva softly chided her. "He is still with us. Be thankful for that."

Tony snapped to his feet, the guilt too much to bear sitting still.

"Anthony, please! I realize you are having difficulty with this; but you do need to hear what the doctor has to say." Ducky quietly admonished him.

"DiNozzo." Gibbs seconded quietly, too upset for what Tony was obviously burying himself under to be pissed at him anymore. The time for sorting his own feelings would come later. His team came first and right now they all needed him to be there for them, especially his boys.

Tony shuffled back to his seat and sat back down, his eyes finding the floor and staying there, his shoulders slouched as far as they would go.

"Now, as I was saying, Agent McGee is extremely lucky that the angle of the gun as it went off caused the bullet to veer on a thankfully non-fatal course as it entered and traveled through his body."

"Thank God!" Abby rejoiced as she bounced on her heels.

"However." The doctor frowned at her interruption. " It did nick his heart just slightly as it passed through. although it did not do any other serious damage as it continued on and exited out through the soft tissue of his shoulder muscle just beneath his clavicle. I'm certain you will find your bullet imbedded in something close by where Agent McGee was sitting at the time of the incident. Now, the good news is, that barring any complications and with ample time allowed for whatever recouperation is necessary, we expect him to make a full recovery."

Cheers went up from the younger people in the room while Gibbs merely straightened his frown into an expression of neutral unreadability that he normally wore. He wasn't prepared to celebrate until he saw his agent for himself.

It had nothing to do with not believing Ducky or the doctor and everything to do with believing what he could see for himself; especially since things were just beginning to be dealt with for his other surrogate son, in regard to this mess. He couldn't help but offer a smile in Tony's direction in hopes that it would ease the younger man's overwhelming guilt. Gibbs also knew that Tim would need reassurance that he was going to be okay, as well.

"However." The doctor carried on when the hub-bub died down, " I must warn you, his condition is listed as serious because his heart will need to be treated delicately until we can be certain that it has come through this trauma with no ill-effects or risk of free bleeding or any complication that might arise.. The next 48 hours are the most crucial because we want to be extremely careful not to rush his body into anything but rest and immobility to minimize that risk."

Ziva and Abby seemed to freeze with that deflating news. The doctor pressed on, needing to get everything said at once.

"Now, because we are not subjecting his heart to any more medications than absolutely necessary, he has _not_ been placed in a medically induced coma. Which is why, I will not place a time limit of expected recovery, as it is strongly recommended that you allow his recovery to happen day by day with rest. We've got his bed raised to enough of an incline, he should be able to eat/drink when he's off the respirator without any significant movement."

"We need to see him." Abby said tearfully.

"Absolutely not. As I just explained to you, he needs complete rest. Right now he is sleeping and absolutely does not need to be disturbed."

"He needs us just as much." Ziva stated. "We are his family and it is important that McGee knows we are here for him. If he believes he is alone, he will take that to mean that we do not care about him. It will not help him recover. We will not wake him."

"She's right." Abby said firmly. "We all know, we'd feel the same way if we were in here and the rest of the team wasn't there for us. And we do promise not to wake him"

Gibbs looked at the doctor, daring him to argue with the points Ziva and Abby had just made.

"Alright. I will allow you to visit him as soon as we get him settled into his room. Each of you gets two minutes – no more - and no more than one of you at a time. If you even attempt to wake him, I will bar all of you from his room! I will not sacrifice his recovery for the sake of making you feel better."

"Haven't you been listening, Doc? It's not about making us feel better! It's about making sure, McGee knows we're here for him! You want him to recover? Don't keep his family from being there for him!" Tony snapped off as he jumped to his feet and stalked from the room; desperate for air and the chance to get a grip on his guilt.

The Team Leader torn. Go after Tony or see for himself that Tim was alright. He couldn't be both places at once. _It was a stupid accident. Avoidable? Yes, damn it,, but an accident just the same._ He knew Tony was beating himself up about it, they could all see it clearly. Protocol be damned, it was the fact that he actually shot a friend, a fellow agent, the person that amounted to a little brother in Tony's eyes.

Gibbs was certain that the agency could be threatening to throw him in prison for the rest of his life and all Tony would still only be thinking about the moment he realized he had done the unthinkable, and lost control of his weapon within the close confines of the squad room, gravely injuring his teammate and friend in the process. Nothing else mattered. The Team Leader's emotions felt raw but he knew the others would understand the need to bring this family together and close ranks. Both physical and emotional wounds would need repairing.

Making eye contact with Ducky and receiving a nod in return, Gibbs turned and followed his distraught agent after sending an angry glare hot enough to melt steel to Agent Colburn as he attempted to follow. Realizing his agent hadn't gone far, he joined him just outside the ER doors. "Tony."

Tony stiffened but didn't turn, "I shot him."

The pain in those three, softly spoken words swirled about the two as they stood under the canopied entrance. "Come on." Gibbs said as he passed Tony and headed for the bench tucked beneath small trees near the parking area.

Tony followed, head hung as he stopped and sat down beside his boss, hands clenching and unclenching. "Not much you can say, Boss, I shot him. Almost…." Tony closed his eyes, "almost killed him."

"No, Tony. YOU didn't shoot anybody. It was an accidental discharge of your weapon. Big difference. You and I both know that McGee knows it, too. You think for one minute that he'd be happy to see you like this?"

"No." Tony admitted without hesitation.

"You runnin' away now when he needs you most? You gonna hide from him, Tony? If you think that's not gonna do more damage your wrong!"

"I shot him! My God, Boss I'm not running away! I'm removing the memories…I saw his eyes, Boss! He looked at me when he realized I'd shot him. There was no forgiveness there and I don't blame him. I have done nothing but belittle and harass him but I don't hate him. I joke, I play around, but I….I…I don't know what to say! I don't know what to do!"

_**Thwack**_

**Ow. Thank you, Boss." Tony's quiet tone spoke volumes of the guilt that was weighing him down and choking him to the point he wasn't able to think straight.

"You listen to me, DiNozzo! What you saw on McGee's face was shock. Don't you go lookin' for what wasn't there. It was an accident, pure and simple. In case you missed it back there in the squad room, McGee apologised to _you_."

"He _what_?" Tony asked in shock.

"Didn't sound like he blamed you at all. In fact, sounded like he was blamin' himself."

"Oh, God, this is such a mess." Tony groaned.

"One that can't be cleaned up by you runnin' away from it or hanging yourself out to dry. You even think of ruining your career for this, you'll be answering to me. And to McGee."

"Agent Gibbs."

"Not now, Colburn!" Gibbs snarked.

"Yes, Agent Gibbs, now!" The new voice was familiar but unwanted.

"Like hell, Leon!"

"We need to get a statement. We have to do this by the book. You know that! IA won't look kindly on this long of a wait as it is. Complete cooperation will go over a hell of a lot better."

"It was an accident." DiNozzo whispered shaking his head, "I…the gun slipped."

"Tony, this can wait." Gibbs placed a gentle hand on the tense shoulder.

"No…no, Vance is right, I need to get this done by the book. It's already been too long, Boss. I'm surprised they've let me wait until we got that update about Probie as it is." Seeing Gibbs building up for an argument, Tony quickly made his case, "It's not about me, Boss, it's about Probie and what my idiotic goofing off did to him. Let me do this, you go and check on him. He needs you now. Promise me this won't be one of those times you think he doesn't need you."

"This isn't about me choosing you over him, Tony, it's about making sure you're both okay. Tim's the one that got shot, but you know damn well, this is affecting you, too. Don't short yourself.

Tony gave his head a shake then looked towards Vance, "I'm ready when you are, Director."

"DiNozzo, don't make me head slap you again." Gibbs challenged.

"Listen to him, son. I'm not on a witch hunt and I won't allow you to serve yourself up like some kind of IA buffet. We do this by the book, Agent Colburn needs a statement to continue the investigation, get it to me so I can get it to the higher ups. He's been patient, allowing you to wait for an update on your partner's condition, but now it's time to get it done. I was going to let you give your statement here, but now IA's on their way, so we might as well get it all done back at the office. Worst possible case, you do jail time, odds are, though, you'll get suspension and counseling."

Leon knew he was walking a very thin line here, but he had been in this business for a long time, DiNozzo wasn't the first and wouldn't be the last agent to misfire a weapon. It happens and sometimes people get hurt. It's how it's handled afterwards that makes the biggest impact.

Gibbs narrowed his eyes then saw reason, "Go, Tony, get this done so you can get back here."

"I've already called legal, you should have a advocate waiting there by the time we get on board." Vance turned to give Colburn a nod.

Boss, when you see McGee , make sure he knows….he knows I didn't mean…." He just couldn't say it again.

"He already knows, DiNozzo. Go, we'll be here when you get back. And Tony?" Gibbs waited for Tony to make eye contact, "You're not alone in this! Got me?"

"Yeah, I gotcha. Take me away, Director, I'm all yours."

Gibbs watched as Agent Colburn walked towards Tony then turned and stood next to him, "This way, Tony." Then they were off towards one of the agency sedans.

"You better take care of him, Leon, don't throw him to the wolves." Gibbs growled.

"He'll be fine, Gibbs, now go take care of your other agent. Call me when you get any more updates."

With a quick nod that said more than any words could express, Vance watched as Gibbs disappeared into the hospital. His step just a little slower, his shoulders just a little lower, _McGee and DiNozzo are not the only ones hurting_. He thought as he made his way to the car and off to the agency.


	3. Chapter 3

_11:45 AM Monday_

Returning to the waiting room, Gibbs walked into an eerie calm that sent a shiver of unease down his spine. He'd spent time just walking around trying to process what had happened and more to the point, why it had happened. The model of Sigs that the agency supplied them with had a firing pin block, which sure as hell should have stopped the damn weapon from discharging the way it did. With a heavy heart, he looked around the room and noticed Abby nestled into Ziva's side, as the Israeli woman hugged the lab rat back with one arm. The other wrapped around her own middle as if trying to soothe a physical pain that Gibbs new damn well to be a reaction to the emotional pain she felt. Although her head remained bowed, there was no doubt, her eyes would tell of the anguish she was feeling for both of her beloved teammates as well as for Abby; the little sister of the group who still held a special love in her heart for Tim.

Even Jimmy Palmer was looking like he'd lost his best friend and the look on his face as he stared aimlessly out of the window, reflected in the windows pane. Gibbs knew the kid's mind wasn't as lost into nothingness as it appeared to be. It was a given that all of them were on pins while they waited for an update from Ducky. It was at this moment that the Team Leader experienced a moment of relief that there were no immediate family members of Tim's here to endure the waiting…the endless waiting…

When the Director's Assistant had notified him earlier that Tim's family was unreachable but that she'd keep trying, he'd felt a moment of sympathy for his agent who probably felt alone and empty without his family nearby, but at this moment, he felt relieved that they weren't there with them. As he looked around the room, he sighed. His surrogate kids were having a hard enough time with this; he could only imagine what Tim's biological family would be going through had they been here.

His heart twisted; the long residing pain in his heart letting itself be felt once again even though Tim wasn't Kelly... Before he could think on that any further, Ducky was once again walking back into the room, this time, looking much more optimistic than he had just a short time ago. Walking over to his friend, he looked at him in silent query, as the others seemed to morph into energized rabbits with their sudden burst of energy that brought them quickly to stand beside Gibbs to hear whatever Ducky had to say. Oddly enough, the group was silent as they waited, almost as if they were afraid to speak, for fear it would jinx whatever they were about to hear.

"There's been no change. Which means Timothy has not taken the turn for anything worse. As serious as his condition is, that is good news.," the M.E. announced calmly as he looked at his long-time friend, attempting to infuse him with hope and relief. "He can have visitors now as the doctor told you earlier, but his rest is paramount and must come first, no matter how badly you want to see him awake and talking to know that he is alright."

"No one goes in without Ducky or myself present." Gibbs ordered immediately, knowing it would take the presence of one of them, to keep the others in line on this. He didn't care who didn't like it. He turned to make his way out of the room when he felt Ducky's small hand stop him. "What is it Duck?"

"Jethro, I realize how much you want to see Timothy, but…" Ducky's voice trailed off as he looked sadly at his friend's hands. He wasn't surprised that no one noticed it with all the drama and emotional turmoil that surrounded them at the moment, but now that he had a moment to stop and think, he saw it. He saw the dried blood that had congealed and was still coating Gibbs' hands. "Oh, Jethro. You need to wash up before you go in there. I understand that this has been hard and we are all struggling to process everything but should Timothy waken, he can't see you in that state. As you can see, Ziva has already cleaned up, although I'm certain Abigail had much to do with helping that get taken care of."

Gibbs glanced down at his hands before letting his gaze wander to his shirt, which was stained with the dried, brownish evidence of what had transpired in the squad room.

"Just wanna see him, Duck."

No one said a word. Without any more wasted time, Ducky spoke again, "Alright. How about I take you to his room and while we all have a moment with Timothy, you can use the rest room to at least wash the blood off of your hands. There is a window outside, So everyone can wait there while we each take our turn at sitting with him for a moment."

Gibbs nodded his head and detoured to the bathroom just a couple of doors down from his Agent's room whilst the rest of the team took their turns at going in. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts and worries about their teammate's condition on the journey down and as the M.E. took Abby inside, the others remained standing outside the window of Tim's room watching and taking in how pale and ill Tim looked. It was frightening to see someone they cared about looking so frail and between the machines beeping and barely audible hiss of the oxygen, and the bags of fluid and blood that hung on poles while flowing slowly through the tubes to go into the hand canula that had been fitted, they were all at a loss.

His youngest agent looked much smaller and even younger than he usually did which in turn, made him seem so vulnerable and in need of their protection even as he slept. Thankfully, the pain medication that he was receiving courtesy of the morphine pump was keeping him comfortable but it was a small mercy.

Abby gasped audibly when she reached Tim's bedside, nearly dropping into the chair with shock and horror at her best friend's current state. His color was still no where what it should be and with the breathing machine doing all the work for his badly worn out body, he looked frail and fragile enough to break like a twig. It broke Abby's heart seeing him like this and as the tears slid down her face, she gently picked up his hand and rubbed her thumb across the back of his hand. "Oh, Timmy." She whispered. "Don't you leave us. You just have to get better. We need you."

As her sorrow and worry began to rise up within her, she laid his hand back down on the bed and fled the room before the levy broke.

Ziva looked back in the direction that Abby had just run off in and then she looked back at Tim wistfully. Both of her friends needed her; all three, really, but she was only one person.

"Go on, Ziva, sit with McGee for a minute. I'll talk to Abby." Gibbs said quietly from where he stood. The blood that had previously coated his hands was gone, but he still felt it there and it served as a torrid reminder of an event that should never have happened. He saw the frown on Ziva's face and sighed. "It's okay. Go on." He urged as he turned to follow his lab rat and help her deal with this horrid nightmare.

Ziva entered Tim's room with her heart constricting painfully at the sight before her. _Had it really only been a few hours ago that all of them had been sitting at their desks at work doing their jobs like normal people? Would Tim really be able to recover from being shot at such a close range?_

Sitting down beside his bed, she took his limp hand in hers and absently began stroking it, much as Abby had done earlier, while she softly began talking to him. "McGee." She found herself at a loss for words and had to stop for a minute to think. Suddenly, she knew what she needed him to hear the most. "Do not think this is your opportunity to escape from us. We will do better but you must give us the chance. Do not leave us. I cannot bear to lose any more people I care about. And if you think I do not care about you, you are wrong. You rest now, all right? Do not let anyone take that away from you. The doctor said you need all the rest your body will allow you to have, so you do that."

Blinking away the traitorous tears that didn't have permission to fall, Ziva stood and bent down to kiss his cheek. "I will go now so you can sleep. I look forward to seeing your beautiful green eyes again when you wake up. Do not even think of disappointing me." She released his hand and laid it gently back on the bed, taking one last long look at him as he slept the sleep of the gravely injured.

Without so much as a glance in Ducky's direction at the end of the bed, Ziva left the room as if the devil were on her back, reaching the elevator at the end of the hall before she'd even realized it and let her breath back out; unaware she'd been holding it in, just like her tears, that now slid down her face freely as well.

*****NCIS*****

_12:30 PM_

"Have a seat, Agent DiNozzo." Vance requested cordially as he and Tony entered the inner office of the Agency Head. "I gave you some time to grab some lunch and I know you just got done giving your official statement, but it'll be at least another thirty minutes before we get started with the rest of this process. Agent Colburn will be back shortly."

"Bringing the bigger guns, I'll bet." Tony quipped testily as he sat down, his nerves making him jumpy as his guilt wrapped itself around his heart even tighter. He knew it had been an accident and that the gun shouldn't have misfired the way it did, but the sting of it was, it had been avoidable and he had been clowning around. **That's** what made him responsible and **that** was the reason why Tim was currently laying in a hospital bed.

He knew Gibbs and even his probie would let him off that hook; but he couldn't bring himself to let himself off that easily and he was too buried under that guilt to care who saw it.

"Don't go hanging yourself out to dry, DiNozzo. Won't have this turning into the career ender you're itching for. You'll have to accept the consequences for the fact that your gun was loaded inside the building, but it won't mean the end of your place here at NCIS or on Gibbs' team. If that were the case, the law enforcement field would be mighty thin and pretty narrow-minded to boot. Besides, that weapon should not have fired. The Sig Sauer P229 has a failsafe to prevent it firing when dropped."

"That's one of the reasons I thought it would be safe…I…Damn it, I took it for granted and know I shouldn't have been messing around the way I did. I…"

"You will face the consequences IA comes up with, but don't wallow in the self-pity and guilt. It won't do you, or Agent McGee any good."

"Thanks, Director. Just wish this was over. I need to be with McGee. Then again, he probably won't wanna see me anyway."

"When did you stop listening to Gibbs, DiNozzo?"

"I'm not sure I follow."

"Didn't I hear Gibbs tell you earlier that McGee wouldn't want you feeling guilty like this and he damn sure wouldn't be holding you responsible?"

"Yes, Sir."

"That's not good enough for you to believe in? Even I agree with him."

"That's not it, Director." Tony admitted quietly.

A knock on the door saved Vance from having to dig for the answer to the question as Agent Colburn came in with two other agents in tow.

"Director, Agents Taylor and Reed from IA." Colburn announced as they all came to stop next to Tony, in front of Vance's desk, looking antsy and ready to get down to brass tacks.

"We're not starting this meeting yet, gentlemen." Vance reminded them as he remained standing behind his desk. "Agent DiNozzo's Representation is not here yet."

"Director, I'm…" Tony tried to do away with all of this formality.

"Not going to say another word, Agent DiNozzo until your representation is here. Do I make myself clear?" Vance sternly admonished him.

"Yes, Sir." Tony replied with more humble pie than he'd ever displayed before, causing Director Vance to wonder who this young man was and what they'd done with the real Anthony DiNozzo, Jr.

Several tense seconds went by before Vance cut the other men some slack. "Gentlemen, please, take a seat at the table while we wait. "DiNozzo, step outside and wait for your representation before coming back in. Don't step foot back in here without them."

Tony got up and headed back out to the Director's outer office, dropping into the chair closest to the door that led back out to the rest of the building's interior. _God, he wished this was over._

****NCIS*****

Gibbs shook his head. He needed to be here for Tim, but he needed to be there with Tony, too. Remembering what he'd told his Senior Field Agent about what McGee would want in this mess if he had a say in it; he got to his feet and walked over to his prone, unconscious agent in the bed. "McGee, I **will** be back here for you, but right now, I have to go be there for Tony. Ducky's gonna sit with you until I get back. We won't leave you to wake up alone. Just do your part and remember you don't have permission to die or even give up. We'll take care of Tony for you." Gibbs patted the young man's calf gently and walked out of the room, motioning for Ducky to join him as he reached the hallway where the M.E. stood.

"Duck, need you to sit with McGee. I have to go help Tony fight this. They're gonna need my statement of what happened, too."

"Of course, Jethro. Anthony will need all the help and support he can get to see him through this. I am also relieved that you were able to get Abigail to accept Mr. Palmer's offer to buy her dinner to get her away from here for a bit. I will want to be here when they return as well." Ducky reassured the Team Leader calmly.

"Yeah, me too. I'll be back. I'm gonna check on Ziva before I come back. After what you told me, she's gonna need…"

"Indeed. Even if she will not admit to that need, I agree, my friend. I am certain that giving her own report on what took place today will not be easy on her either. Do let me know if you need my help."

"Thanks, Duck." Gibbs offered as he hurried out, anxious to be there for Tony before it was too late.

*****NCIS*****

Ziva's feet hit the pavement a little harder with each stride, her passion for running serving her in good stead now, as her sorrow and pain threatened to overwhelm her. She hadn't felt this hopeless or full of sorrow since her captivity in Somalia and it ate at her that this horrid accident was causing her friends so much pain. Bringing herself up short, her brain broadcasted the reminder that both of her 'brothers' needed her but right now, there was only one that she could do anything to help. Turning around, she sprinted for her car, having a new direction and a new plan of action in mind.

Across town, Abby and Jimmy were painfully trying to force themselves to eat their deli sandwiches that neither of them wanted. Jimmy glanced at his watch and frowned. Tony would be facing the IA Inquiry right about now, since the powers that be seldom waited any length of time to throw down the gauntlet on those who'd messed up – even accidentally, like this. It had been a surprise to find out they'd waited as long as they had as it was.

"What?" Abby asked with a touch of impatience.

"I'm just worried about Tony." Jimmy admitted.

"Why does that have you looking at your watch?"

"He's probably facing the firing squad right about now. They're pretty strict about loaded weapons inside Federal Office Buildings, right?"

Abby looked stunned. "He is? Right now? Literally, in front of IA? Oh, my God! No! We can't let that happen! It was an accident! Tony cannot be allowed to get fried for this! We have to get over there! Now, Jimmy!"

"I agree. Let's go." Jimmy threw some money down on the table to cover the tab and the tip and they hurried out, anxious to be there for the one in trouble.

*****NCIS*****

Twenty minutes seemed to take forever for Tony as he sat in the same chair, nervously moving, first one leg, then the other, then drumming his fingers than humming; soon, he'd run out of ways to pass the time and thought he'd go crazy with worry about Tim at the same time.

"Just can't sit still for very long, can you DiNozzo?" Gibbs smart-alec quip reached Tony's ears and immediately, his nervousness left him as he nearly jumped to his feet in relief and smiled at the sight of his boss standing in the very same doorway to the outside hallway that Tony had been seriously thinking of escaping down, for the last fifteen minutes.

"Boss!"

"Don't you forget it, Tony." The boss nearly growled as he sat down in the seat next to the one Tony had just vacated, silently urging Tony to sit back down and relax.

"Really appreciate you being here for me, Boss. But you should be with Probie." The younger man argued.

"Ducky's with McGee. Neither of you are gonna go through this alone, Tony." Gibbs told him quietly. "Thought you'd have known that by now."

"Thanks, Boss."

Gibbs nodded once and placed his crooked finger under Tony's chin. Tony looked up at his Boss with a heavy heart. "Okay, let's go through this. Did they take your weapon for testing?"

"Yeah." Tony said quietly. "They took it away because Abbs can't do it."

Gibbs nodded. "We need this impartial. If there's something wrong with that gun, they'll find it."

"You think they will? I mean…"

"Tony, listen to me, they'll find out what went wrong. Sure you'll face whatever consequences come for your part in this, but if the firing pin block failed, then they'll find out why. Not the first time something's gone wrong with a gun, and sure as hell won't be the last."

Tony nodded and rubbed at his eyes tiredly. The emotional stress, and just plain old exhaustion weighed heavily on his heart and his soul felt leaden with the guilt of what had transpired. Still, right now his Probie was alive and for that, he was thankful.


	4. Chapter 4

_1:00 PM Monday_

Ziva found herself reaching the front entrance to NCIS at the same time as Jimmy and Abby. With somber greetings for each other, they quietly rode up the elevator together with the same one-track mind, determined to do what they could for the one in trouble as they knew the injured one would have wanted them to do. With no spoken words between them, they walked to the Director's Office and entered, only to see the backs of their fearless leader and their troubled teammate, as they were ushered into the inner office.

"Tony! We here for you." Abby called out to him even as the door began closing behind visibly paused in his steps but didn't look back; Gibbs' hand suddenly on his back urged him to keep going. Looking at each other wordlessly, Abby, Ziva and Jimmy realized the sad truth; they'd gotten there too late.

Watching silently as the Director's Assistant picked up her phone and quietly told the director they were there in an official manner, they found themselves hit with disappointment when she hung up the phone and returned to her work without saying anything to them. _?_

After what seemed like hours, the Director's door opened, Director Vance, himself, looking at the three anxiously waiting employees in his outer office. Finally, after a painfully awkward moment of silence, he smirked. "Good, Agent Da'vid, Mr. Palmer, I'm glad you're already here. Saves me the trouble of having to call you up here. We're ready to take your statements now. A word of warning; everything you say here goes on the official record as part of what happened to Agent McGee."

A trio of "Yes, Sir"'s caused Vance to smirk at the rareity of this occurrence, that is, until his brain reminded him of the seriousness of the issue at hand. "Ms. Scuito, why are you here? I already know you were not a witness to what happened in the squad room."

"I know I didn't witness what happened, but I'm here for Tony. We all know he would never do something like this on purpose! We can't let him let anything bad happen to him! McGee would be devastated!"

"Relax, Ms. Scuito, whether or not this was an accident, is not the question here. There's no doubt in anyone's mind that it was just that; a terrible accident."

"Oh. Then, why is Tony in trouble? Oh, right, the loaded gun .Director, you can't let …."

"Ms. Scuito! I can't do anything except follow procedure and protocol on this issue. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really need to push this along, for everyone's sake. Agent Da'vid, you first. Let's get started."

Ziva got up and followed the Director into his office, the door closing behind her with a snap that sounded strangely ominous. Jimmy and Abby exchanged worried glances but remained silent. _Was Tony doing okay? Why were they letting him stay in there while Ziva gave her statement? Why were they letting Gibbs stay in there? Would they actually be able to do Tony any good by being here?_

It seemed like forever, but in truth, it was merely thirty minutes later when the door opened back up and it was Jimmy's turn to give his statement as to what he'd witnessed. His view would be significantly different, of course, since his was from a medical standpoint, but Vance would take any report he could get. He hoped he could stall this meeting long enough for Dr. Mallard to come and give his report as well, in the best interest of getting it over with by day's end.

Ziva smiled encouragingly at Abby as she headed out of the office.

"Wait! Ziva! Where are you going?" Abby asked in surpse.

"I need to go sit with McGee so that Ducky can come and give his report as to what he witnessed and even what he was required to do to help McGee before the paramedics arrived."

"Oh. Will you call me if Timmy wakes up, please?"

"Yes, Abby. I will call you if there is any change." Ziva promised as she left.

"Whew." Abby breathed out in frustration. Laying her head back against the wall, she allowed herself a moment of calm before her thoughts turned chaotic and restless once more, filled with worry for both her friends; the one in trouble with what happened and the one in trouble because of it. _What a mess! Please, let Timmy be okay and please let Tony be okay, too!_

******NCIS*****

_Monday - 2:45 PM_

Ducky strolled the hallway outside Tim's room, anxious to stretch his aching knees and work the kinks out of his neck and back since Tim hadn't woken up yet. The M.E. was actually relieved the young man was still sleeping peacefully since it was the best way for him to begin to recover from this horrible accident that could have taken him from them so easily. The M.E. couldn't help but send up a silent prayer of thanks that Tim had been spared from the horror of dying from this. His musings were soon interrupted, although unexpectedly.

"Ducky? Is everything alright?" Ziva's worried question reached him through his chaotic thoughts.

"Oh! Ziva! My dear, nothing is wrong. I simply needed to stretch my legs and I can still keep my eye on Timothy from here while I do that. I take it you are here to sit with him while I go lend my report to the proceedings?"

"Yes. Director Vance is asking that you return to NCIS to give your statement now so they can get all of this out of the way today instead of dragging it through several days." Ziva answered calmly.

"Very good. Do keep an eye on his machines, won't you? If their readings change more than five numbers in either direction, call for a nurse and alert them, alright?"

"Yes, Ducky. I promise, I will watch carefully, over McGee and monitor the machines taking care of him." Ziva vowed as she turned and entered Tim's room.

She took note of the readings of the machines for a minute before sitting down at Tim's side and taking his hand once more, again rubbing her hand across the back of his hand in soft repetitive motions. It didn't take long for her mind to replay the incident in her head, the awful sound of that gunshot still clearly heard as if it had just happened and the look of sheer agony on Tim's face as he slid from his chair were two things she couldn't stop reliving in her mind as she sat there now, not trying to talk to her friend and teammate who needed sleep more than he needed to hear words. She settled for making sure she had just enough pressure on his hand as she held it, that he would know he wasn't alone.

_Monday - 4:45 PM _

Two hours later found the team effectively done with being grilled by IA and officially removed from the Case Duty Roster and once more arriving back in the hospital waiting room. While Gibbs issued the quiet order that everyone sit tight and wait for an update before pouring into Tim's room, Ducky went on ahead to relieve Ziva and see for himself how Tim was doing. After getting the 'not bad' news that Tim's condition hadn't changed, Ducky made his way over to Tim's room and spoke to Ziva.

"How is our patient doing, Ziva?"

"Hello, Ducky. It would seem he is determined to listen to the instruction that he sleep without letting anyone disturb him."

"Wonderful. That is exactly what he needs to be doing. Have you noticed any signs that he is in physical pain?"

"No. The pain medicine they have given him must still be working, yes?"

"It would seem so, although I imagine they'll be wearing off soon enough and then he won't be doing quite so well, until the next dose kicks in."

"I do not wish to see him in pain. Can they not do something so that he is not in pain like that?"

"They have it timed. He won't be in any more discomfort than absolutely necessary, Ziva, I promise you."

"That is good to hear. I need to let you have your seat. How did it go with IA and Tony?"

"We won't know until they have had time to consider all that we've told them. Anthony is officially on paid suspension until they have made that decision. He is in the waiting room with the others."

"I wish to see how Tony is doing so I will leave you to visit with McGee.." Ziva said as she left the room.

"So, young man, you're being a good patient and getting your rest, I hear. That's good. It's what you need the most, Timothy." Ducky quietly spoke to let Tim know he wasn't alone. "Perhaps now would be a good time to show you that I am actually capable of being silent when it becomes necessary. Sleep on, dear boy. I'll be here if you should need me."

Without further words, the M.E. settled into the chair by the bed so he could keep an eye on the monitor readings while he tried to read at the same time. It was going to be a long night, but he was too thankful that Tim was still with them, to find fault with that knowledge.

*****NCIS*****

_Monday - 5:00PM_

"How is he, Ziva?" Tony asked worriedly as soon as he saw his partner coming into the waiting room.

"Sleeping untroubled as far as I can tell." She assured him. "Ducky is with him."

"I need to see him." The Senior Field Agent insisted as he fixed his eyes on his boss.

"That's what the window outside his room is for, DiNozzo." Gibbs replied calmly.

"Boss, I…"

"Take what you can get, Tony. We're not messin' with his recovery by crowdin' in there. You heard the doc."

"Yeah, okay. I'm gonna go stand at his window so he'll at least be able to see me when he wakes up; if he wants to, that is." The last half of Tony's statement, although muttered half under his breath, did not go unheard.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs growled as he led the way to his downed agent's room without any further discussion.

When they reached Tim's window, they all stopped and looked, sadness permeating the air around them as they took in their injured comrade. "I did this." Tony couldn't stop the words from escaping his tortured soul. "I let this happen."

"Tony, you did not do this. This was an accident." Ziva told him. "You will be of no help to him if you cannot see that."

"Ziva's right, Tony. You know how Tim is. He forgives everyone, all the time. Besides, he won't want you blaming yourself in the first place. It was not as if you picked up your gun and aimed it at him, for goodness sake!" Abby added as she hooked her arm through his and leaned her head on his arm while they looked at their friend through his window. "He's gonna need us to be there for him, Tony. Just like Ziva said, without all this blame."

Standing silently behind his people, Gibbs smiled softly at the girls trying to get through Tony's bullheaded thick skull. It wasn't hard to see where the guilt was coming from but it was damn near impossible for them to get Tony to see that he needed to put it away; more than that, he needed to let it go and focus on the road ahead with Tim's recovery.

"DiNozzo, knock it off." The Team Leader finally put an end to the conversation gruffly as he turned his attention to the room in front of him and the obviously still silent M.E. _Thank God for Ducky's ability to be silent when the need arose._

"Yes, Boss."

At that point, Ducky seemed to know they were there and he turned to smile at them as a show of encouragement. Getting to his feet, he walked to the door so he could verbally offer them encouragement for the young man's recovery.

*****NCIS*****

Pulled from the blissful nothingness that he'd fallen into, the blinding light seemed to burn his eyeballs even underneath his lids. _God, he hurt everywhere! What the the hell happened and why was he hearing strange noises? Where was everyone? And what the hell was he choking on?_

His brain screamed at his body to fight the instrument of his suffocation but his worn out body was just too exhausted to follow orders. To make matters worse, every movement by any part of his body sent radiating excruciating pain through him, seemingly everywhere.

Suddenly, a calming hand was felt on his shoulder and a familiar and comforting voice was heard whispering in his ear.

"Relax, McGee. You're okay. Just relax and go back to sleep."

Even as his hand reached for the source of that voice, his brain did as it had been urged to do and fell back into the blissful nothingness that had waited to claim him once more.

"You sure he's okay, Duck?" Gibbs asked as he made no effort to remove Tim's hand from his wrist where the young man's attempt to find comfort had taken him.

"He is doing quite well, considering what he's been through and the risk we are guarding against, I imagine waking up on a breathing machine is quite frightening, Jethro."

"It is." The Team Leader replied without hesitation.

"Ah, yes, you have had that unpleasant experience a time or two. Let's hope that the next time Timothy awakens, he will be more lucid and able to calm down enough to gain an understanding of what has happened to him and that he really will be all right in time." Ducky encouraged. "I wish to have a word with his doctor."

As Ducky headed out of the room, Gibbs sat down next to Tim's bed, his hand still underneath Tim's, connecting the young man to a physical show of support that he obviously needed. He would wait until Tim removed his own hand before disrupting his sleep by trying to move it for him.

Closing the door behind him, the M.E. turned to see the team standing at the window and smiled encouragingly at Tony, Ziva and Abby before stopping to ask a question. "Where is Mr. Palmer?"

"He's gone home to get some sleep '_so he can take a shift when the rest of us have worn ourselves out'_." Tony told him with a half-smirk playing on his face, as he repeated the younger man's words verbatim.

"Ah, that's very astute of that young man. I shall return in a bit. Do try to see that Timothy is getting better; even though it is in very slow increments. The fact that he is not getting worse is very heartening indeed, my dears."

While Ducky walked away, Tony entered Tim's room and walked to the end of the bed, looking down at the blanket covering Tim's feet as if he couldn't bear to look at his fallen teammate or his boss. Gibbs looked over at him and waited silently for the younger man to speak his mind.

"Boss, I wanna stay with him tonight."

Looking at his older agent with an intense scrutiny that had Tony squirming in his shoes, Gibbs remained silent. Without saying anything, the boss turned his attention back to his sleeping agent. As he'd hoped, Tim, by this time had settled into his sleep enough that his hand slid off of Gibbs' wrist back down to the blanket.

Almost immediately, Gibbs got up and drew Tony over to the far corner of the room before he spoke. "How much sleep did you get last night?"

"Enough."

"You're not the silent type, Tony. This can't be handled with your normal clownin' around."

"Boss, c'mon!" Tony objected in a loud whisper

"Think you can handle stayin' quiet and actually letting him sleep – _all_ night?"

"Boss, trust me, alright? I got this!" Tony pushed.

"This isn't some sort of punishment for what happened, DiNozzo." Gibbs warned.

Tony looked down at his feet for a minute before letting out a sigh of frustration and guilt and looking back up at his boss. "I know, Boss. I promise that's not why I'm doing this."

"Okay, then. When Ducky gets back, you listen to his instructions – follow them to the letter. I expect updates, DiNozzo. He wakes up, I wanna know about it. He takes a turn for the worse, I'd better hear about it real quick, you got me?"

"Yeah, Boss. I got it. I promise." Tony vowed sincerely, his eyes locked onto those of the man who letting it be known he wasn't about to sit back and just be a silent witness to his agent's recovery.

Gibbs nodded and left the room, needing to find out how his girls were doing.

"Gibbs!" Abby cried out as she threw herself into his arms as soon as he closed the door to Tim's room behind himself once he'd entered the hallway.

"Hey.. How you two holdin' up?" he asked them quietly with a concern he wasn't trying to hide for once.

"I am fine, Gibbs. I believe Abby is doing better." Ziva answered with a small smile.

"How's Timmy?" Abby asked hopefully from within the safety and comfort of Gibbs' arms.

"He's still sleepin'. Just woke up for a second and was pretty disorientated."

"Oh, No!" the lab rat was distressed at that news and pulled away to look at the Team Leader with eyes filled with pain for what her friend was going through.

"Relax, Abigail, that is completely normal under the circumstances. As Jethro can confirm, it is very alarming to wake up with a breathing tube down one's throat when you have no recollection of how it got there" Ducky reassured her as he returned to their fold. " I'm afraid in Timothy's case, he may not have even been aware of what it was that had been placed there. He appeared to be choking and beginning to panic as a result. His doctor has assured me that as soon as Timothy has regained consciousness for longer than ten minutes at a time, he hopefully be able to have the ventilator removed and be allowed to breathe on his own."

Ducky paused to let that much sink in before continuing on with what he had to say.

"Since he is still very much under the effects of the anesthia from his time in the operating room, and quite exhausted, it will not be this evening, by any means. Sleep is the order of the evening for our young man."

"Tony, go get some shut-eye. Be back here at ten." Gibbs instructed the younger man who'd come to stand in the doorway so he could listen in on his team's conversation. "The rest of ya's go home, eat and get some sleep. I don't wanna see any of ya's back here before 0800."

"Gibbs! I need to see Timmy before I go to work in the morning." Abby protested.

"Fine. Make it a short visit and do NOT wake him if he's asleep when you get here."

"I won't. I promise." She vowed as she smiled at his answer.

"I believe we all feel that we need to see McGee once more before we go home for the night." Ziva objected calmly

"Not even sure he'll wake up again tonight, Ziva." Gibbs reminded her without bite.

"We all need to eat a decent meal, Gibbs. We could go get some dinner and them come back and at least check on him." She pushed. "It does sound more suitable for everyone."

"Make sure Tony eats and bring me back a sandwich and a large coffee." Gibbs relented.

"Gibbs! Aren't you coming with us?" Abby asked sadly.

"One of us needs to be here for McGee." The boss reminded her.

"But, Ducky…" she started to remind him in return.

"Needs a break."

"Jethro, thank you, but I…."

"Duck, it's not like you've been sittin' around all day doin' nothin'. You need a break. Now, go on, all of ya's get goin'."

With sheepish grins of all sorts on their faces, the group filed out, leaving Gibbs alone to keep watch over his seriously injured agent.


	5. Chapter 5

_Monday 5:45 PM_

Sitting in a booth as they waited for their orders to be served, Tony, Abby and Ziva seemed to thinking along the same lines as they each sat stooped over, with their hands wrapped around their water glasses so tight, it appeared as though they were having a contest to see who might break the stem of their glass barehanded first. With a sigh of compassion, Ducky took in their demeanor and realized what was lying underneath the surface for all of them. Unwilling to let this get any worse, the M.E. spoke up.

"Do try to relax, won't you? At least enjoy a decent meal before returning home to get a good night's sleep. In all probability this will be the last chance you have to relax like this. Rest assured, when Timothy is taken off the ventilator and begins to recover, he will need the support of all of you and coupled with your jobs, it will be a difficult time to get through for all of you without wearing yourselves out. You will be wishing for this chance to relax."

As the three of them roused themselves from their shrouded thinking and looked his way, he could see they were each gearing up for an argument of one sort or another. Not ready to let this get out of hand, he spoke again. "Do not even attempt to bring up the fact that Timothy's being hurt this way should require all of you to be less than good to yourselves. Timothy would not think very highly of that thought process and neither do I. If our young man was here right now, I do believe he would not be happy to see you like this."

"Ducky's right, you guys." Abby said softly as she unwound her fingers from her glass and flexed them gingerly.

"He usually is." Tony quipped seriously as he finally lifted his water glass and took a long drink from it.

"Anthony, while I understand why you feel the way you do, I must warn you to put this guilt you are insisting on carrying away before you sit with Timothy this evening. He does not need to see it or even sense it."

"I know, Ducky. I'll leave it outside his door, I promise." Tony offered with a half-hearted smile as he put his glass back down on the table.

"If you cannot do so, then in all good consciousness, I cannot permit you to take on the role of Timothy's companion this evening, no matter how much you may want to I suggest you find some way to get it through that thick head of yours that although you are partly responsible for what has happened, in that your weapon was loaded when in fact, it should not have been; for goodness sakes, Anthony, put it aside and concentrate on appeasing IA and taking care of Timothy's need for your friendship and support now as never before while he fights to recover. He holds himself to the high expectations of both you and Jethro and will perceive any of his own inability to rebound from this as weakness. You will do well to keep that in mind as you help him through this."

The group fell silent while their food was served and conversation fell away while they ate in subdued silence. It seemed like hours passed while they struggled to find the will to eat after those sobering words from their beloved and wise M.E.. Finally frustrated with this unfortunate turn of events, Ducky issued a warning.

"Do not force me to call Jethro on the lot of you!"

Wearing similar half smiles, the trio immediately straightened their postures and began putting more effort into eating and even managed to start talking once more, thanks to the waitress checking on them and Tony's insatiable appetite for flirting.

*****NCIS*****

_Monday – 8:30PM_

After the team had come back from dinner, they spent a few silent minutes watching Tim sleep without the young man having any clue that they were even there, before leaving for the night, The the night passed without incident or any sign of Tim waking up; at least up until now. Having refused to allow himself to get bogged down in his troubled thoughts, Gibbs had opted to bury himself in a book, knowing any movement from the bed would get his attention.

Sure enough, out of the corner of his eye, Gibbs noticed Tim's arm moving restlessly around on the bed while his eyes searching for someone he knew that would tell him what the hell was going on. Gibbs hurried to the young man's bedside where he knew Tim could see him and placed a calming hand on his wrist as he spoke to him.

"Easy, Tim. Look at me. Stop panicking and look at me."

Tim's panic driven motions instantly stopped at the sound of Gibbs' voice and the calming touch of his hand. His eyes found those of his boss and locked on, practically begging the older man for help.

"That's it, relax. Keep your eyes on me and calm down. Need you to listen to me, alright? Squeeze my hand if you're with me."

The barely discernable pressure on his hand stabbed Gibbs' in the heart as it hit him just how weak his agent really was. Tim blinked twice which Gibbs knew was the young man's way of getting the message across.

"Good. Now, let the machine breathe for you until the doctor says otherwise. Stop fighting it, got it?" the firmness was back in the boss' tone because there was no room for argument or disobedience on this.

Again, Tim blinked twice. But, this time when his eyes reopened, Gibbs couldn't miss the silent question there: _What happened_?

"Do you remember this morning in the office when you and Tony were arguing over John Wayne?" The boss asked carefully.

Tim blinked twice.

Gibbs knew the moment the young man recalled exactly what had happened that landed him here in this hospital bed with a machine breathing for him, because his eyes suddenly went wide with comprehension, worry and fear. _Tony!_

Thankful that he knew his agent well enough to read him, he quickly eradicated the fear the young man was obviously experiencing. "Tony's fine."

Almost from out of nowhere, Tim's doctor appeared and immediately placed himself where Tim could see him. "Agent, McGee, I'm Doctor Murphy. I won't tire you out with a lot of explanations right now. What we need for you to do is to stay calm and go on back to sleep. Your body needs all the rest it can get right now and it's very important that you do not get anxious or upset about anything. That puts too much strain on your heart and for that next 48 hours that's dangerous for you."

Tim's eyes grew wide as they flew back to his boss demanding an explanation. _What happened to my heart?_

"The bullet nicked it." Gibbs told him without pulling any punches.

"_Am I gonna die?" _Tim's eyes were glistening pools of fear.

"No, McGee. And don't you forget it, you hear me?" Gibbs got firm with his agent once more, knowing the young man needed that typical firmness to regain his footing here. "I didn't give you permission to do that, remember? Not about to give it to you now, either."

"Agent Gibbs!" Doctor Murphy objected.

Gibbs' eyes remained locked on his agent, effectively ignoring the doctor's complaint as he understood and accepted the silent gratitude for the whole truth and the promise that came with it, now glistening in the eyes of his agent in the bed.

With a small smile meant to encourage him, Gibbs told the young man. "Go on back to sleep so you can start mendin', alright? One of us from your team will be here when you wake up."

"_Promise?" _Exhaustion pulled at the young man even before he got his answer,. With his eyes suddenly too heavy to keep open any more , he had to rely on his hearing and wasn't disappointed.

"Yeah, Tim. I promise."

****NCIS****

_0600 Tuesday Morning_

The next morning, with no further incidents to disturb Tim's sleep, the changing of the guard within his room, took place noiselessly but with saddened hearts as Ducky ordered a bone weary Tony home for some sleep and a shower along with a meal, while Gibbs checked in on his agent before going to work.. It was tough seeing him so frail and damaged like this. Every one of them felt their hearts tugged harshly at this turn of events. Tony declared that he would head home after the team had visited Tim together and no one had the heart to send him on his way any sooner.

With the restriction on Tim's visitors temporarily lifted so the team could spend a few silent minutes with him before they went to work. Ziva had opted for sitting back by the window, her emotions too close to the surface for her own comfort, as she pulled herself back together. Abby, on the other hand, was sitting at Tim's bedside, her hand cradling his, her thumb softly caressing his, as her own burdened heart lay bare and hurting seeing her friend go through this as the result of a freak accident. Tony's part in all of this weighed heavily on her as well. She was not angry at the Senior Field Agent anymore; that anger had dissappated when Jimmy had reminded her of what Tony was facing as a result of this accident. Now, she just hurt for him; for both of them.

Seeing Tim lying here so still and pale, the breathing tube down his throat, brought tears to her eyes that she didn't have the strength to chase away. While she was thankful beyond measure that he was alive; she was scared to death that he wouldn't survive this. For some reason, the doctor's warning that they'd have lost him if the bullet had been any closer to his heart, was wreaking havoc on her own emotions and she felt like she was all over the map.

Part of Abby's soul wanted to scoop Tim up and hold him in her own protective custody for the rest of his life; but then the part of her that had broken up with him all those years ago and even saw fit to treat him badly on occasion since then, reminded her now of those times and instilled more conflict within her about him. Still, he was the best man to have come into her life in that personal of a relationship and she didn't want to have to know what it felt like to not have him in her life.

Her hand was suddenly squeezed gently and her thoughts came to a screeching halt as she looked at the object of her chaotic thoughts, only to see his green eyes dulled with pain staring at her as his hand lifted up off the bed towards her tear streaked face.

"Hey." She said softly.

Sleep took him away once more, his hand falling back down to the bed and Abby's breath caught in her throat as it hit her hard just how bad her Timmy really was doing.

Tony's silence had returned as he watched his 'family' try to get through these first moments of Tim's waking up and it looked as though he hadn't gotten much sleep Gibbs knew the guilt was still eating at his agent but there was precious little that could be done to alleviate any of it. That was something Tony would have to work out for himself. The Team Leader had faith in the young man that he would seek help when he needed to or was ready to talk.

No one spoke after Tim drifted back to sleep, all of them slipping out into the hallway soundlessly, too wrapped within their own thoughts to voice any of them. Finally, Ducky broke the silence by asking for an update.

After a quick conversation in which Ducky was given an update on Tim's condition, thankfully unchanged, the others left the M.E. to watch over their patient while they went to work and Tony headed home for some more rest, a shower and some food. He'd be back long before the others would since he was currently on suspension. There was no where else he planned on being except right here for his teammate.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: I apologise for the delay in posting. I don't have internet at home right now._

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><p><em>7:00 Tuesday Night <em>

The work day was done and the team met up with a freshly rested M.E. and Tony who'd traded off with Ducky a few hours before that, all of them ready to listen to any update on Tim. As pre-arranged by Ducky, Tim's doctor was meeting with them to give them that update and was expected shortly. Rather than risk disturbing Tim's rest, they stood at the window outside his room while they waited so one of them could get straight to him if he showed signs of waking up.

Tim's doctor, when he arrived, got straight to the point. "Dr. Mallard has strongly suggested that you want an update on Tim from me. The good news is that there is no news. Nothing's changed; which means, nothing's taken a turn for the worse and he still needs plenty of sleep. I'm lifting the 'One person only' restriction, so long as you continue to put my patient's recovery first at all times. When he wakes up and can stay awake for longer then ten minutes at a time, we will do a Cardiac MRI to see how his heart's doing and then, we'll see about taking him off the ventilator. He needs to remain calm and resting. That means not getting him upset about what happened that landed him here." The doctor practically growled as he looked at Gibbs for that last statement.

"Doc, he knows I'm not gonna lie to him. He wants to know bad enough, he'll stress himself out worse not knowin'." Gibbs warned without apology. "Just how he is"

"So long as you abide by my restrictions, you may keep visitng with him and one of you may stay with him again tonight."

"Thank you, Doctor." Ducky offered as he held out his hand to shake the Doc's.

"Just doin' my job. Always happy to work with the families who don't make my job harder." He turned and walked away, his pace fast enough it was clear he was heading somewhere he needed to be.

As one group, they entered Tim's room, still in silent mode, Abby and Ziva gravitating toward the chairs on either side of his bed, while Tony slunk off into the corner, leaving Gibbs and Ducky standing at the end of the bed. Abby picked up Tim's hand once more and again, began caressing his thumb with hers, like she'd done that morning.

This time, she was more alert when his hand weakly squeezed hers back some thirty minutes later. With a small gasp, she looked at his face and was rewarded with the sight of his green eyes looking back at her once more.

"Hey." She softly greeted him again.

Looking around the room with his eyes, he found each of his team members in turn, before looking back at Abby with a question in his eyes. _What's wrong?_

"Just worried about you. You scared me. Scared all of us."

_Sorry._

"Wasn't your fault, Timmy. Gibbs said you apologised to Tony when it happened. Why would you do that when this wasn't your fault?"

"Abby, he can not answer that right now." Ziva scolded gently from where she'd come to stand, directly behind Abby so Tim wouldn't have to strain himself looking both ways.

Tim's eyes moved to Ziva's face and the question that filled his eyes was almost audible: _You okay?_

"I am fine, McGee. We are all fine. The question is, are you? Are you in pain? Do you need us to get the nurse for you?" Ziva redirected the conversation where it needed to go.

Tim gently shook his head to let her know he wasn't in need of anything.

"Don't be tryin' to be stoic, McGee." Gibbs said from the end of the bed as he watched silently. "Abby, hit the call button for the nurse. They wanna know when he wakes up anyway."

Tim's eyes flew to those of his boss and then to Ducky where he stood right behind the boss. _Where's Tony?_

Gibbs pointed to the corner where Tony was standing stiffly, as if he was ready to leave the room before he'd been spotted.

"Tony's gonna go get some sleep so he can sit with you later. Which is what these two are gonna do now that they've had their chance to see you for this visiting hour." Gibbs told him.

Ziva and Abby both kissed Tim on the cheek and told him they'd see him tomorrow as two nurses came bustling in. "

Ah, Agent McGee, how nice to see you awake. I'm sorry, people, but you will have to clear out so we can examine our patient. And if we find out one of you woke him up, you will be barred from coming back!" the older nurse sniped as she glared at each of them in turn.

Gibbs glared right back at the woman but it was Ducky who took charge of the situation.

"I assure you , my dear, we did not wake him. I believe young Timothy is trying his level best to let you know that, if you would simply look his way"

Gibbs looked at Tim who motioned his agreement with what Ziva had said.

The older nurse pursed her lips together in a fine line and shrugged her shoulders. "Just doin' what the doctor ordered me to do." She defended herself staunchly.

"And we appreciate it, my dear." Ducky assured her. "None of us wish to compromise Timothy's recovery in the slightest. Come ladies, I shall walk you out. Timothy, dear boy, do be a model patient wont' you? I shall see you tomorrow morning."

Tim nodded as he thanked the kindly M.E. with his eyes the best he could. Noticing the nurses looking over by the window impatiently, Tim turned his eyes in that direction, to find Gibbs stubbornly remaining where he stood.

"You'll need to leave too, Agent Gibbs."

"That's up to my agent." Gibbs insisted without backing down as he looked at Tim.

_Stay, please._

"I'm not leaving you, Tim."

"Sir…"

"If you'd bother to ask him, you'll see he doesn't want to be left alone." Gibbs admonished her with a touch of anger.

With a sigh of reluctance, the nurse finally looked at Tim and asked. Do you want him to stay while we check you over and make sure everything's okay?"

Tim nodded as vigorously as he could.

"Alright, then he can stay, so long as he stays out of our way." She turned her eyes on Gibbs as she finished speaking.

"You won't even know I'm here." Gibbs quipped with a smirk as he straightened his features and returned his eyes to those of his agent.

"How you holdin' up?" he asked gently. "Okay?"

Tim nodded slightly even as fear and pain filled his eyes.

For the sake of Tim's right to keep how he was feeling under wraps, the older man refrained from calling him on what he saw in the younger man's eyes, as he sat down beside his bed, making sure to place one of his hands where Tim could reach out and take it if he needed to.

For countless minutes, while the nurses poked, prodded, stuck and fiddled, Tim kept his eyes glued to those of his boss, thankful the man understood what he needed; an unwavering anchor to hold him steady through the rising tide of emotions stemming from being unable to talk and confused as to what the hell was going on with his body and all the pain he was feeling. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the nurses left without a word and Tim's eyes dropped to the bed at his waist.

There was little doubt in the older man's mind that Tim desperately wanted to reach out and take the hand that was being offered for support. Hell, he could see the tremors wracking the kid's frame from nerves or pain, one. Finally, he drew out a ragged breath, reached over and took Tim's hand and spoke to him. "Hey. Look at me."

Tim's eyes came back up to those of his boss. "What I tell ya about not acting tough? I know you're in a hell of a lot of pain and there's no strength in tryin' to hide it, McGee. But, that's not what has you shaking, is it?"

Tim agreed with Gibbs, the slight shaking of his head providing proof of that.

"What is it?"

Without any shudders or blinds, Tim looked Gibbs full on, his eyes filled to the rim with fear.

The older man felt his heart pull at the sight of such raw emotion from this young man who normally never let anyone see what he was feeling. "What is it you're afraid of, Tim?"

Tim motioned for something to write with and Gibbs let go of his hand to take out his trusty notepad and ever present pen and set it on the bed where Tim could reach it.

Watching as the young man wrote out one word, Gibbs frowned. When Tim pointed at the pad of paper, Gibbs picked it up and read it.

_Dying_

"Didn't I tell you that you weren't?"

Tim pointed to his chest and gently thumped it several times.

"Feels like it?"

Tim nodded.

"Alright. I'll talk to your doctor; see what we can do about that. In the meantime, you need to sleep. As much as you can."

Again, Tim's eyes became pictures of fear.

"What is it? What else are you afraid of?"

Tim pointed to the pad again and Gibbs set it back down for him. After a brief minute, he handed it back to Gibbs. Taking the time to read what Tim had written, Gibbs frowned.

_Not waking up._

"Let's get the doc in here so we can stop this, alright?" Gibbs suggested with the rare sympathetic note still in his voice. There was no acceptable reason for Tim to be experiencing this kind of paralyzing fear and it needed to be alleviated right now or the kid would be jeapordising his own recovery.

*****NCIS*****

_Tuesday Night - 9:00PM_

"Agent Gibbs, the doctor has gone home for the evening and the night shift physician is at the other end of the wing checking on patients. It will be at least an hour before he's back down this end, ready to check on your agent. You could try explaining to him that he's being monitored out here at the nurse's station and nothing like that will happen to him." The petite nurse told him seriously.

"Yeah. Okay. Just make sure the doc comes by at some point, will ya? Don't understand why it took you almost 2 hours to tell me that. I've had to keep telling my agent that he'd get an answer soon. Don't appreciate having to keep him on tenderhooks like this."

"I do aplogise but as you could see, we are very very busy and understaffed. The doctor was hard to locate as well. I promise you, the doctor will come talk to you and give Agent McGee a check over."

Gibbs nodded and turned to go back to Tim's room.

"Hey, Boss, what's goin' on? Something wrong with Probie?" Tony asked as he approached the boss where he was moving away from the nurse's station.

"What are you doin' here already, DiNozzo. It's not ten yet."

"Couldn't sleep. I'm good, honest." Tony replied earnestly. "So, what's goin' on? Why would you need to tell Probie that he's being monitored out here?"

"Pretty sure he wouldn't want you to ever have the chance to rag on him about this, DiNozzo."

"Boss, I wouldn't!"

"Better not. He's afraid to go to sleep, scared he won't wake up cause his chest is still hurtin' like hell."

"How'd you figure all that out?"

"I know how to read." Gibbs said dryly.

"Huh?"

"I gave him paper and pen, DiNozzo!" The boss barked a bit impatiently.

"Oh. Hey, Boss, lemme talk to him."

"Your experience with the plague isn't the same thing, Tony. It won't reassure him that it's not happening to him."

"Yeah, I know. Still wanna talk to him, though."

"In a minute. Wait here." Gibbs instructed as he went in Tim's room.

"McGee."

Tim looked over at him expectantly.

"Doc's gonna be here in about an hour to check on things. Until then you're supposed to relax. You've been monitored from the nurse's station since you've been in here, so you've got nothin' to worry about, alright?"

Tim smiled softly, his eyes full of gratitude at Gibbs' efforts to ease his fears.

"Tony's here so I'm gonna go home and get some sleep, alright? I'll be back first thing in the morning. Don't let Tony drive you crazy. If he does, just throw something at him." Gibbs smirked.

Tim smiled and nodded.

"Okay then. See you in the morning."

Gibbs walked out of Tim's room and looked Tony dead on "Go on. Don't stress him out and whatever you do, don't drive him crazy."

"I promise, I'll behave." Tony vowed as he turned on his heel and made his way to his probie's room.

Once inside, he stopped just inside the door and watched as Tim stared at the ceiling while his hands became the outlet for his frustration, fisting the blanket and letting go repeatedly. Tony couldn't understand why there wasn't very much tension in Tim's movements, almost as if there wasn't any emotion behind them at all. That didn't make sense. Needing to pull Tim away from whatever was obviously bothering him enough to let him in on it, Tony cleared his throat before opening his mouth.

"Hey, Probie. What's goin' on?" Tony kept his tone calm even as he walked all the way up to the bed and picked up the notepad still laying there.

Tim's eyes closed for a brief minute before opening back and going over to Tony at the end of the bed, now genuinely unreadable which was a rare occasion coming from him.

Sitting down in the chair Gibbs had vacated, Tony gave him back the notepad as he kept going with the conversation before Tim would struggle to answer him somehow. "You know, just between you and me, you're a lot better patient than I was. I mean, I thought I was dying with that plague; that hurt like hell and every breath felt like I had a 10 ton dragon trying to fry my ass while it sat on my chest and I let every one of them know it."

Tim looked at him with exasperation.

"Yeah, I know, it's not as if you can talk and that's gotta suck. But, look at it this way, Probie. You'll be in better shape when they do take that tube out than you'd have been if they hadn't been so careful."

_I know. Thanks._

"Go to sleep, Probie. No one is gonna let anything happen to ya. I'll be right here ready to bug you the minute I think you need it, just like Kate did for me."

Tim smiled softly as his eyes slid closed and sleep found him once more.


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: I humbly beg forgiveness - with my writing partner going through emergency appendix removal and facing serious complications from that - I completely forgot that we had made it through one more chapter together._

_The deadline for the challange this was written for - is the 15th. I've been trying to let Shelbylou get back into this with me - and hope you'll excuse the delay._

_While we're waiting to see if she can help me finish this - here's the one chapter we have that should have been posted already._

_Again - I am deeply sorrry I forgot about it._

* * *

><p>Wednesday morning dawned bright and clear, almost as if in keeping with the continued, yet tiny progress the team was seeing in Tim's recovery. As soon as they all met up together outside Tim's room at seven, they were told by a nearly jubuliant, Ducky, that Tim had woken up earlier and had stayed awake for a good ten minutes, even if those minutes were spent in silent looking around. Heseemed to be doing better. His color was returning to normal and he hadn't panicked at all, although he didn't seem to be able to completely relax while awake.<p>

"Now that he has shown signs of waking up more consistently and for longer periods of time, they will begin to assess whether or not it is safe to remove him from the ventilator when that time comes." Ducky explained to the group as a whole.

"Won't they need to wait to look at his heart and make sure it can handle the stress? I mean, it's been less than those 48 hours the doc talked about." Tony asked..

"Yes, Anthony, you are quite right, the time frame is shorter than what the doctor was hoping for. However, after witnessing the troubled state in which Timothy awoke the first time, I have advised him that it may very well prove to be more beneficial to our young man to be breathing on his own, aided by a much less invasive instrument than the respirator. The only thing that will change will be the need for extra vigilance; both with the readings on his heart rate monitor and in keeping him calm, resting and _not_ depleting his strengthwith talking."

"But, you said he was sleeping again. They'll have to wake him up to remove it, right?" Abby asked in confusion.

"No. We will wait until Timothy wakes up long enough to hear what his doctor has to say. The doctor will have it removed then. In the meantime, they will conduct another Cardiac MRI to look at his heart, as Anthony said. It is prudent that we keep an eye on how his heart is doing."

Before Ducky had even finished speaking, a team of four people; nurses and orderlies alike, swarmed past the team and on into Tim's room. Like an army of worker ants, presumably to make quick work of removing the tubes from his hands and preparing him for the scans they needed to take him for, they moved in quietly, closing the door behind them, leaving the team standing forlornly out in the hall, worry prevelant in all their expressions.

"Come, let's go take that 1st morning break we need. I'm sure we can all use more caffeine to get through this day." Ducky suggested as he drew the group away from Tim's room and down towards the elevator.

"Bring me back a cup of coffee, Duck." Gibbs told him as he sat himself down outside Tim's room.

With sheepish grins of all sorts on their faces, the group filed out, leaving Gibbs alone to wait until his agent was done undergoing the heart scan and returned to his room. The kick of it was, he hadn't even been wheeled out to go to the MRI room yet. Needing to see the young man again before he was carted off, Gibbs remained outside the room waiting for them to wheel him out.

As they wheeled Tim out of his room a short ten minutes later, Gibbs laid a hand on the bed rail, effectively forcing the nursing staff to halt in their progression. Leaning down so that only his agent would hear him, he offered the young man a few words of encouragement.

"Be right here waitin' on ya when ya get back. Just relax and let them get this done, alright?"

Tim nodded in response, his eyes glued to those of his boss, unconsciously letting Gibbs see that he was still scared out of his mind that so much of his life was out of his control right now.

"Hey." The Boss gently chided him. "You're gonna be just fine. No one's gonna let anything happen to ya, alright?"

Again, Tim nodded, this time smiling softly in gratitude for the extra effort his boss was putting forth in trying to make him feel better and the calming effect those words were actually having on him.

The Team Leader nodded and he stepped back, watching as his agent was wheeled out of sight on his way to the MRI. Heaving a sigh of troubled relief, Gibbs turned and headed out; taking this opportunity to stretch his legs and get fresh coffee. It would be a while before Tim was done. Gibbs was back within fifteen minutes. Taking a seat by the door, he closed his eyes in a moment of relief and rest. It had been a hell of a long day and it wasn't even over yet. Unfortunately, all he could do now, was wait.

Two hours later and the patient was once again sleeping soundly in his own hospital room, safely ensconsed in his bed with the team gone on to work, with the exception of Tony who remained by Tim's bedside, unwilling to leave him.

****NCIS*****

_Wednesday – 5:PM_

While Tony had anticipated a day of working things out with Tim so that neither accepted blame for what had happened; he found himself greatly disappointed in the fact that his probie barely woke up at all through out the day; except for a moment here or there; mostly at some nurse's prodding.

Countless hours and a half-dozen movies later after the rest of the team had left him looking out for Tim, he'd seen almost all the day shift of nurses come into Tim's room at one time or another to record the readings off the machines and look him over carefully, but none of them woke him; in fact all of them made the extra effort not to do so.

Even the doctor had come in to check on him made no effort to wake Tim, although that visit offered nothing new in terms of an update on how their patient was doing, it did ease Tony's guilt a little when he was informed that things were looking good for his 'little brother'

Finally, feeling relieved enough to actually concentrate on a movie, Tony was startled out of it before he realized almost two hours had passed. "DiNozzo, how's he doin'?"

"Whoa, Boss! Wasn't expectin' ya."

"It's five thirty, DiNozzo." Gibbs reminded him.

"Really? Wow. Uhm, to answer your question, he's been sleepin' all day. Barely said two words to anybody and that was only to one of his nurses."

"Good."

"Thought you said he was wakin' up more."

"He knows sleep is what he needs, Tony. When his body's had enough, you'll know it. Abby and Ziva will be here in a minute. Go with them and get something to eat and take a break. Don't let me see you back here before 7."

"On it, Boss." Tony replied as he stood and stretched while he waited for the girls to arrive.

*****NCIS*****

Wednesday** 7**_:00 PM_

Evening arrived and with it came the rest of the team back from dinner to see Tim, with both Abby and Ziva immediately taking up the seats at his bedside. Gibbs had taken the opportunity with their arrival, to take a much needed break as he and the M.E. took their conversation outside where they could stretch their legs and Gibbs could eat his sandwich in peace. As they settled down on the bench they'd stumbled across, Gibbs unwrapped his sandwich and took a bite while Ducky regaled him with the tale of what had taken place with the rest of their motely crew over dinner.

Unexpectedly, the Team Leader found his own food hard to swallow and set the untouched part of it back down on the wrapper as Ducky handed him his coffee. "Eat, Jethro. You need to keep up your strength."

"Thanks."

"How are you holdin' up, my friend? Something's been playing on your mind all day, I could see it."

"Just how much of a 'nick' to his heart are we talkin, here, Ducky? The doc made it sound life-threatening but then talks about it as if it's not. What was all that talk about not stressing his heart in case it starts bleeding again – seems to me - that McGee won't be allowed out in the field if that were the case? Wouldn't they have said his job would have to see some changes?"

"I understand your confusion, Jethro. Rest assured, they are simply erring on the side of extreme caution where Timothy's heart is concerned. The bullet passed closely enough that it barely touched it and thankfully so. Any further to the right and as the doctor said, Timothy would surely not have survived the havoc that would have wrought.

"Thank God. Don't think Tony woulda been able to deal with loosing McGee like that."

"No, he most definitely would not have and I am quite certain that none of us would have."

"Yeah. You're right about that." Gibbs answered somberly, his heart in his voice.

Silence returned between them as Gibbs managed to finish his sandwich and drink his coffee. It was a few minutes before either of them spoke again, this time, the silence broken by Ducky.

"Jethro, when Timothy is sufficiently on the road to recovery to be released from here, what do you have in mind?"

"You thinkin' I already have it all planned out?" Gibbs smirked.

"You always do, my friend and we both know Timothy well enough to realize he will be wondering this very thing almost from the moment he is able to remain awake long enough to think on things."

"This time, I think I'm gonna have to let that be your call, considering what we're dealin' with, don't ya think, Duck?"

"Well, in that case, I believe he should be made comfortable in my home, where everything he could need is on one floor and there is plenty of reading to keep him quietly occupied while he mends."

"You don't think I read?" Gibbs smiled at his friend's faux paux

Ducky smiled in return, choosing not to answer that question as he stood from the bench and made to go back inside. "Shall we see how our patient is doing?"

"What kinda time are we lookin' at before we can spring him from here?" as he joined his friend in their trek back to Tim's room

"Oh, I would say at least a week if not, two."

"Two?"

"It depends, I suppose, on the level of caution Timothy's doctor wishes to follow." Ducky warned.

"None of my people like hospitals, Duck. I think he'd mend a hell of a lot quicker at your place."

"That may very well be so, Jethro, but as I am not Timothy's treating physician right now, it is not my call to make. I can; however, stress that point with his doctor and see what I can do to help him see the validity of it as the best place for Timothy to be, when the time comes that he is able to withstand the trip. But, do remember, my friend, that will be at least a week from now. It is more important that his body be given adequate time to rest and begin to right itself, first."

"Yeah. I hear ya. I just hope McGee can be convinced to be a model patient for that long." Gibbs replied.

"Well, he always seems to listen to you rather well." Ducky reminded his friend with a slight smile. "After all, you did tell him to sleep as much as possible and Anthony said Timothy has done that all day."

"Good thing, too!" Gibbs said seriously. "Don't know what I woulda done if I'd walked in and found Tony keeping him awake with all that movie nonsense he sprouts off all the time."

"With all the guilt that young man is carrying around, Jethro, did you really expect that he would have done such a thing?" Ducky asked with disappointment.

"No. No, I didn't." Gibbs admitted as they reached Tim's room and silently watched the women sit as silent sentries at their wounded friend's bedside.

Before anything could be said, Tim's doctor arrived behind them, "Glad you're all here. It makes it easier to share my good news. Tim can be taken off the ventilator. I know it's late and it's not common for us to do something like this late at night, but he was sleeping comfortably and as badly as he needed that, I felt it was more important than taking him off the ventilator. He should be plenty rested now, at least enough to withstand us removing it. However, nothing else regarding the visitation restrictions changes. No stress and no keeping him awake."

"That's wonderful. When will you remove it?" Ducky asked as he looked at the doctor.

"As soon as he's awake enough to hear what I have to tell him."

"He is awake." Ziva announced from the bed, her eyes on Tim as he looked at the Doctor in the doorway.

"Good. Hello, Tim. I hear you've followed my orders pretty well and slept almost all day today. That's great. It means we can have confidence that your heart is on the mend. Your MRI looked very good. Your heart's showing no signs of trauma or even stress so whattaya say we get this ventilator off and let you go back to breathing on your own?"

Tim's eyes lit up and he nodded.

Chuckling, the doctor looked at the rest of them. "Alright. We're gonna need some elbow room here, so why don't all of you wait out in the waiting room and someone will come get you when he's ready for you to come back in?"

"Doc…." Gibbs protested.

"If you wish, you may wait outside his room, but we cannot have anyone else in here while we remove the tube. We simply have to have the room to work."

"We'll be right outside." Gibbs promised as he held the door open for the ladies and then Ducky.

"Doctor Mallard, you're welcome to stay and assist. I'm sure Tim would appreciate your presence and I could use an extra set of qualified hands." The doctor called out as the team left the room.

Ducky turned around and looked at Tim. "Timothy?"

Tim nodded his agreement with what looked like hope in his eyes so the M.E. came back into the room, letting the door close between himself and the rest of the team.

****NCIS****

_Wednesday Night – 9:00 PM_

It seemed like forever before Ducky came out to the waiting room where the others had retreated to so Tim could have a modicum of dignity, to let them know Tim was safely off the breathing machine and that his lungs were working fine on their own but the look of absolute peace on his face, was worth the wait. There was no doubt that their teammate was okay. It brought smiles to all of their faces.

"He's okay?" Tony verbalized just to be on the safe side.

"Yes, Anthony, Timothy is doing quite well, although his throat, as you can well imagine, is feeling quite raw after spending all that time with that tubing there, so we do not want him talking at all this evening. You can, however, go visit with him so long as you continue to keep your visits calm and do not let him try to do anything for himself just yet."

"No sweat, Doc." Tony gave back glibly, too relieved to watch his tone. "C'mon, ladies, we've got a man to go visit."

"DiNozzo." Gibbs called out warningly, his eyes clearly demanding that Tony be on his best behavior.

"I'm on it, Boss. I swear. " Tony vowed.

"Do try to refrain from letting him hear any talk about the shooting." Ducky requested, causing Tony to genuinely wince.

"Yeah." Was all the Senior Field Agent could say, his steps slowing with the pain of the M.E.'s words striking him in the heart.

"Cmon' Tony! Let's go see Timmy!" Abby cajoled as she slipped her arm through his and fairly dragged him as she hastily headed towards the right door, Ziva silently walking beside him.

"Jeez, Duck." The Team Leader griped.

"I do apologise, Jethro, I meant no harm to Anthony. I shall talk to him about it later, I assure you."

Gibbs nodded silently as he drank from his coffee and headed in the direction his crew had just gone in, Ducky walking beside him and neither of them saying a word; both soaking in the good news that things were looking up for Tim.

*****NCIS*****

Tim's chest and shoulder still felt like Tony's fire breathing dragon was sitting on them, despite the pain meds he was getting and it was keeping him feeling very weak. While he was thankful that the god-awful breathing tube was gone, he was even more thankful to still be alive, even if his throat did feel like it had been put through a cheese grater. As he lay in his hospital bed waiting for the impending visit from his team, he couldn't help but revisit the events leading up to him laying here with a gunshot wound in his chest and shoulder muscle.

_"Oh, oh this is my favorite one of all. 'This kind of war, you've gotta believe in what you're fighting for.' Colonel Madden, Back to Bataan.". _

_"Tony!" Tim exclaimed angrily as he turned in his chair and glared at the Senior Field Agent. "Enough! Alright? Jeez!"_

_"You know, McWhiney" Tony said. "You just can't handle ..."_

**_BOOM!_**

_The deafening sound of a gunshot resounded through the squad room; drowning out all other noise even as the flash of searing pain roared through his body, stealing his breath away._

Tim shook his head in disbelief. _Why couldn't he have just put up with Tony's ranting just like he'd always done? If he had, none of this would have happened in the first place. **He'd** done this. And now Tony was obviously out of a job or he wouldn't have been sitting here babysitting him all day. _

Heaving out as much of breath of frustration as he could, Tim wiped at his suddenly wet face.

_Damn it to hell! Why did he always have to be such a screw-up?_


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: The remainder of this story is dedicated to Shelbylou - who, due to complications from her surgery - is unable to help me finish it._

_Since she is trusting me to take this to the finish line for the both of us - I shall endeavor to do her proud._

_We both appreciate all of your patience and kind words of review._

* * *

><p>"Hey, Probie! Look at you, all grown up and breathing on your own again!" Tony congratulated him as he led the trio into the room. With his eyes fastened on the patient, it was easy to see that their teammate was upset about something.<p>

"McGee, what is it?" Ziva asked. "It is obvious something has upset you."

Tim blinked and looked down at his bed, unwilling to dump this on them. The fact that he'd done this and brought them all to this place with the situation, only left him feeling undeserving of any of their attention. They shouldn't be wasting their time visiting him.

Since Tim refused to look back up at them or even address them, Tony, Ziva and Abby were left staring at each other in confusion and silence. It was this silence that Gibbs and Ducky walked into a few moments later and it was their entrance that seemed to snap everyone out of their stasis.

"What happened?" Gibbs asked tersely.

Tony motioned with his head as he led the way back outside Tim's room. After he explained what had happened, Ducky advised Tony to let Gibbs talk to Tim while the rest of them take some time to get some coffee in the cafeteria.

"Feels like déjà-vu" Tony muttered.

*****NCIS*****

Gibbs stood at the window of Tim's room, just out of sight from his agent, while the others headed down to the cafeteria. Already knowing what Tim was doing made it easier to understand exactly what he was seeing with the young man's defeated look in his eyes as he lay back in his bed, staring at his hands where they lay on the bed. It wasn't long before one of his hands rose up to wipe the suspiscious dampness from his face. The Team Leader waited until it seemed as though Tim had calmed down before he entered the room and approached him.

Grabbing the chair by his bed, Gibbs turned it so he could straddle it and sat down in it, silently waiting for Tim to speak his mind. After a few moments of silence in which Tim remained staring at his hands, the older man drew in a ragged breath and slowly let it out before speaking his own mind.

"Pretty quick on the draw with this, McGee. I have to give you credit. Thought sure it'd be at least this time tomorrow before I'd have to beat this outta your head."

Now, Tim did look up and over at him but still remained silent but with expectation of an explanation clearly in his eyes. He knew he wasn't supposed to be using his voice until tomorrow but was dying to know what the boss was talking about. It had to be important or Gibbs wouldn't be addressing it. The man wasn't known for being much of a talker unless he felt it was necessary.

"Been sittin' here doin' a hell of a lot of thinkin', haven't ya?"

Tim nodded, his eyes still locked on his boss.

"I'm guessing you've been tryin' to figure out what's gone on for the past three days while you've been in here. Am I right?"

_Three days? _Tim's shock must have shown because Gibbs actually smirked at his reaction.

"Yeah, McGee. You've been in here for three days. Gun went off on Monday."

Tim's eyes slammed shut. Trust Gibbs to make sure the heart of the matter got out into the open when it affected his team. The axe was getting ready to fall and suddenly Tim wasn't ready for it.

"Need you to tell me something. Do you remember exactly what happened?"

Tim nodded.

"You remember apologizing to me? To Tony?"

Tim nodded again.

"Why?"

Tim cleared his throat but before he could open it, Gibbs tossed his notepad and pencil on the bed in front of him. "Don't even think about using that voice yet. Only reason we're even having this discussion tonight is so this thinking you're doin' stops before it gets outta hand, McGee."

Silently, Tim wrote out what he needed Gibbs to understand. It took him a good long minute but when he was done, he handed the bossman back his notepad.

Gibbs read what Tim had written.

_If I'd just ignored Tony's antics and not reacted like I did, he wouldn't have been distracted. I caused this. And now Tony's out of a job because of me."_

Gibbs tossed the notebook down on the bed and reached over and delivered a firm head slap to his agent along with one of his trademark glares.

Tim looked at the boss for an explanation.

"You breakin' my rules now?" Gibbs fairly growled.

Shaking his head in denial, Tim looked at him with confusion.

"You're assuming DiNozzo's been fired. He's been suspended pending the investigation. Nothing more."

Relief filled Tim's eyes, only to quickly be replaced with regret. As far as he was concerned, Tony shouldn't be in any kind of trouble like this. His career was blemished now because of this and that wasn't anything that could be taken back.

"Knock it off, McGee. What did Ducky and I tell you when it happened?"

Recollection filled Tim's eyes as he remembered both of them telling him he had nothing to apologise for.

"I won't have either you or DiNozzo wasting any more time feeling guilty for this accident. You hear me?"

Tim nodded. _Wait a minute! Tony feels guilty? Damn it, of course he does. But, he's not responsible. It was an accident." _Tim's mind argued.

"Good! You make sure and tell DiNozzo that." Gibbs said with his normal dose of authority as if he were still reading Tim's mind. " Neither one of you are any good to me or to yourselves until you move on. See that ya do."

Tim nodded as he looked back at his boss with thanks and genuine appreciation.

"Okay. I'll let the others know they can come in now. I'll be back tomorrow. You get some more sleep." Gibbs walked out, knowing that the worst was now over and things would begin to look up from here.

As he stepped out into the hallway, he was met with a somberely silent Tony.

"Told you to quit carryin' it. DiNozzo. Don't make me head slap ya before you listen."

Tony blinked and looked at Gibbs. For a long silent minute, their argument remained until Tony finally surrendered to the unmovable object that was the bossman's word.

"Yes, Boss."

"Good. See to it that McGee sees it too!" Gibbs ordered as he headed out.

Tony glanced at the rest of the group, who'd already gone inside, having walked around the two men while they'd squared off. As Abby sat at Tim's side on the left, Ziva sat on his right and Jimmy stood at the foot of his bed, watching the monitors and the numbers on them. Tim appeared to be sleeping.

"What's wrong?" Tony asked as he joined Jimmy at the end of the bed.

"Huh? Oh, Nothing's wrong, I'm just familiarizing myself with what the normal readings should be for him so we can know what to watch for. This is the first time I've been in here long enough to do that since this whole thing started." Jimmy explained.

"Oh. He sleeping?" Tony pointed to Tim as he asked the question.

Tim shook his head, opening his eyes and looking Tony straight on, a mixture of unreadable emotions in his eyes.

"Guys, could you give us a minute?" Tony asked with enough pleading in his tone that they knew he wasn't being mean, but really needed to talk to Tim.

"Don't…" Abby started to warn.

"Tire him out or aggravate him, I know Abbs. I promise, I won't." Tony told her with a kiss to her cheek.

Tim watched silently with a wary look on his face as the group all smiled at him, promised to be back and then left him and Tony alone. Turning to the older man with a warily expectant look in his eye, Tim remained silent.

"Guess this is where I exploit your ban from talking, huh?" Tony quipped as he took the chair Abby had just vacated in the exact same manner Gibbs had taken it earlier. If he'd been expecting a smile, he was disappointed since all Tim could do was turn his frown into a straight face.

"Look, Probie. I think we both know what's going on here. I mean, knowing you, you're probably finding someway to blame yourself for what happened. And I know I blame myself. My gun not properly safeguarded, my slippery fingers when I'm not paying attention and all…"

Tim picked up the notebook with his written explanation in it and handed it to Tony after he'd turned it to the right page. He needed to let Tony see exactly where the blame should be placed.

Tony read the notebook, looked at Tim with abject disbelief in his eyes and in a strangely ironic complete copycat series of motions, tossed the notebook down on the bed and issued Tim a serious headslap. "This is NOT your fault! You've got NO reason to think it was!"

Tim gestured for Tony, trying to make the point that the same went for him.

Tony allowed himself the tiniest of smirks before turning serious. "Yeah, well, I think we're gonna have to agree to disagree on that one, McGee."

Tim shook his head almost violently.

"Yeah, you're right. Gibbs won't go for it, either. Whattaya say, we let it go and just get you on the road to recovery from here?" Tony asked almost nonchalantly.

Tim looked back at him with blatent disbelief in his eyes.

"Don't look at me like that. I know when I'm beat. Besides, Gibbs is right. We can't expect you not to blame yourself if we won't stop feeling responsible. I mean, I AM responsible, but…"

Tim emphatically shook his head in denial.

"Tim. Look. There's no denying I was careless. Doesn't matter if I was busy trying to goofing around or not. My weapon was loaded when it wasn't supposed to be. Plain and simple. Not only did I fail to remove the clip, but I also failed to make sure the safety was on it. Doesn't matter how you dress it up or try to excuse it."

Tim sat back, head almost down on his chest as he breathed out a sigh of frustration. Suddenly, his fingers found the pen and paper again and began writing. It didn't take him long before he was setting the notebook back down on the edge of the bed near Tony.

The older man picked up the notebook again and read what his teammate had written.

_What does this mean for your job?_

"Suspended until the investigation is complete. Probably lookin' at more time suspended if not worse."

Tim hung his head. Suddenly, he felt another swipe to the back of his head and looked up.

"You're not listenin' to me." Tony whined. "I said it _wasn't_ your fault. Don't make me have to beat it into that head of yours." His tone changed to bossy by the time he was done speaking. "Capice?"

Tim smiled softly as he nodded.

Good. Don't forget 'cause we're not having this conversation again. Now, go to sleep. You need the rest."

Tim looked at him in surprise because he'd basically shooed the rest of the team out of Tim's room and they hadn't even had a chance to visit with him tonight and now Tony was telling him to go to sleep?

"Oh, right. Yeah, they'd probably turn me into one of Abby's experiments if I kept them from seeing you tonight. Just don't lose sight of what we talked about here, Probie."

Tim nodded in agreement and Tony smiled. "Okay then, I'll tell them they can come back in. But, we're not stayin' long. Bossman'll kill us if we wear you out."

Tim smiled and settled back against the bed, more than ready for their visit now that his need to talk things out with Tony had been dealt with.

*****NCIS*****

A short thirty minutes later and Tony was gone to get the car for them while the others said their goodnights to Tim. When Abby remained behind for a minute, Tim made his move. Motioning for typing, he begged her with his eyes to bring him his laptop as soon as she could. Smiling from ear to ear, Abby kissed him on the cheek and promised to bring it to him tomorrow if he got a good night's sleep tonight.

Tim smiled with gratitude, he settled back against the bed and closed his eyes, letting sleep take him without a struggle. He knew that Tony would be back to sit with him for the night but this was one night he would not keep Tony from getting any sleep. It was time for everyone to start recovering from this mess, beginning with him.


	9. Chapter 9

Thursday morning dawned bright and clear and with it came the arrival of Tim's team once more. Tony had woken up to the sounds of Abby and Ziva quietly talking while they stood just inside the door of Tim's room. With a smirk, Tony realized that he'd become the morning's amusement, with his head down on his chest, his feet propped up on another chair, positive they'd already taken at least a half-dozen pictures of him on their camera phones. For the sake of keeping the peace and the tranquil mood, he'd let them have this small victory. He wouldn't even mention it.

Rising from his chair, he glanced over at the patient who'd slept restfully through the night without so much as twitching once; grateful he was still sleeping just as peacefully. Tony joined the ladies in the doorway. "Mornin. Which one of you is sitting with McPatient over there while the other two of us go get some breakfast, my treat?"

"I will go with you, Tony. Abby please do not allow your emotions to run away with you while you sit with him. If you think you will have trouble, let me know now and I will sit with him while you go with Tony." Ziva instructed seriously.

"No. It's okay. I've got this. Really." Abby promised with abject seriousness.

"Call us if anything comes up, Abbs." Tony quietly instructed as he kissed her on the cheek and headed out with Ziva, neither of them talking for the moment.

*****NCIS*****

Abby took a moment to pull herself together before reaching down behind the door and grasping the handles of the gym bag she'd brought for Tim. Careful to be as quiet as possible, she took out the cords for the laptop he'd asked her for and plugged it in, inconspicuously stowing the bag behind the bedside table so no one would notice it until absolutely necessary; when Tim was awake enough to plead his case that he needed something to do that would be useful. Just what exactly it was that Tim needed to do or thought he needed to do, was anyone's guess and so far, Abby hadn't been able to conjure up any reasonable explanation but since he'd asked and it seemed like a reasonable request, she'd been happy to oblige him, yet intuitive enough to know that he'd come up against some stiff opposition to the idea of him doing as much, which was why she'd hidden it.

Breathing out a sigh of relief at having been able to do what her best friend had asked of her, she turned her attention to him as he slept; taking the chair beside the bed on that side of him. Taking up his free hand once more in her own, she again set about gently and slowly running her thumb across the backside of his hand, over and over, without even thinking on it, as she gazed at him, scrutinizing exactly how he looked. She liked that he'd regained most of his normal color and he looked to be in less pain than he'd been in the day before.

This time, when he began to stir, she was paying attention and stopped rubbing his hand, but did not let go of it as she watched him wake up. As his head began restlessly moving from side to side, she offered quiet comfort with her voice. "It's okay, Timmy. I'm here. You're safe now."

Immediately upon hearing her voice, Tim's restlessness eased off and his eyes opened in her direction, quickly latching on to hers. For a long silent minute, they just looked at each other, Abby's tear-filled eyes locked onto Tim's pain-filled ones, with nothing said between them. Finally, Abby couldn't take it any longer. She reached out her other hand and gently caressed his face. "You're in pain. I can see it. Let me get the nurse." She offered soothingly even as she tried to stand up, gently trying to pull her hand from his.

Surprisingly enough, Tim held her hand even tighter; although still miles from his usual strength. With his iv. free hand, he reached up and pointed to the nurse's call button on the inside of his bed railing, indicating what he wanted her to do instead.

Immediately, Abby used her hand that Tim wasn't holding to do as he was asking, letting her hand immediately return to holding his other hand when she'd pushed the necessary button. "How's the throat? Think you're ready to start talking to us?" She asked sympathetically.

Tim shook his head even as he steadfastly held onto her hand while she held onto his other one, as if he needed to be completely grounded by her physical touch. She didn't understand it but she also wasn't going to fight him on it. He needed her now and for that she was sadly grateful. Before she had the chance to say anything more, the room was flooded with nurses. Four of them came in together like a pack of wolves, although this pack seemed to be efficient and driven by pre-set goals they didn't bother to mention to either the patient or his visitor as they went about their task. One nurse took in the machine readings while another one stood next to her and wrote in his chart while another one wrapped his arm in a blood pressure cuff and puffed it up while the fourth one removed one of the i.v's in his arm and the bag it was attached to and came back to stick a thermometer in his mouth and keep her eye on the watch on her wrist until the tiny tool beeped, at which point she removed it from Tim's mouth, looked at it and silently wrote in his chart before disappearing from the room..

Abby had never seen anything like this. She knew that usually a patient only got one nurse; maybe two. Maybe they'd swarmed in here together so they could get everything done faster and let him get back to sleep. If that was the case, they would not like the idea of her bringing him the laptop. Well, there was nothing that said he couldn't still rest after he'd done whatever he needed to on it. She'd just have to make them see that, if it came up in conversation, that is.

Finally, after what seemed like only two minutes, the second of the four nurses left while the two working on Tim's chart readings, replaced his chart and went to the cabinets and drawers and came back with wound dressings and antiseptic for cleaning Tim's wounds. "You'll have to excuse us now, Ma'am. We need to change his bandages."

"You're gonna give him some pain relief, first though, right?" Abby asked tremulously as she stepped back and walked around to the window, not wanting to leave Tim alone.

"I'm afraid we can't until after he's eaten his breakfast. He can have it fifteen minutes after he's eaten."

"Can't you change the bandages after you give him the meds and they've had time to kick in?" She insisted."Why do you have to do it now when he'll feel every pull and pinch?"

Looking at each other, the nurses shrugged. "Alright. We'll be back to do this later. We've removed your liquid nutrition because breakfast should be along shortly, Agent McGee. Make sure you eat it all. Oh, and here's a cup with ice chips for your throat."

"Do us all a favor, Agent McGee." The second nurse offered gently. "Don't start talking until the doctor's been to check you over this morning, alright? The more rest your throat has while you soothe it with ice chips before you attempt to eat your breakfast, the easier it will be for you to eat."

Tim nodded at both of them with gratitude in his eyes. Watching them leave the room, he turned his eyes to Abby. He made no attempt to hide how grateful he was for her intervention on his behalf just then; his eyes clearly full of it.

She was quick to return to his bedside and even quicker to offer him a gentle hug on his uninjured side. "I'm glad I was here too." She told him quietly. "I'm even happier that they actually listened to me."

Tim smiled softly as he nodded in agreement and soaked up her hug, even if he was still too weak to lift up his arm to hold her in place. That realization brought a wave of sadness to him and it showed in his expression before he could think to hide it.

"What's wrong?" She asked as she pulled back enough to look into his eyes.

Helplessly, he let his arm flop on the bed to signify his weakened state.

"Oh, Timmy." Abby cooed. "Cut yourself some slack, okay. Let _me_ hold _you_ this time. I don't mind. Believe me. I'm just so grateful you're still here with us. We all are." She smiled at him like she used to when they were happily dating and it made his heart dance for a minute.

Abby reached a hand out for his cup of ice chips, set on the bed in front of her and began feeding them to him with her free hand while she embraced him with her other arm. They stayed there until his breakfast tray was wheeled in a short ten minutes later, by which time the Lab Rat had managed to feed Tim over half of the ice chips and felt confident that he'd be able to swallow solid food now.

With a smile, Abby thanked the cafeteria worker and set about feeding Tim, relishing the task and the chance to do for him so he could continue to rest while finally getting some solid food into him. She was so happy to be able to help him that she failed to see the humiliation flash through his eyes.

Ziva and Tony walked in to the domesticated scene of Abby feeding Tim his breakfast, one forkful of scrambled eggs at a time. At first glance, it had Tony smiling and Ziva trying hard not to laugh. The strain on the patient's face curtailed their humor very quickly, however and both delegated themselves to quietly sitting down and waiting until Tim had the chance to eat without so much as saying a single word that would call attention to their teammate's silent struggle to accept being taken care of instead of being able to be supportive of the rest of them like he usually was.

They knew it had been the first decent meal he'd eaten since Monday's horrible accident. With the desperate need for sleep, his body had required, the nurses and doctors had opted to give him his nutritional supplement intraveneously until now, and it showed. His already thin frame was even thinner now and he was the very picture of a weakened man who hated every minute of that weakness.

Tony was pretty sure he knew that was where the strain was coming from that was showing on Tim's face. The poor guy probably felt humiliated at having no strength with which to feed himself. Still, Tony said nothing, knowing Tim deserved some modicum of self-respect and privacy where his feelings were concerned. Rather than continue to be a silent spectator to Tim's humiliation, Tony snatched up the television remote and got some noise going into the room, to offset the stilted quiet that certainly wasn't helping anyone, least of all Tim, himself.

Realizing what Tony was doing and why; Tim spared him a glance of genuine appreciation, which Tony was waiting to see since he was still concerned about what Tim couldn't voice. A quick glance at Tim's breakfast spread and it was clear that Tim would probably be fading soon now that he'd eaten everything. Watching Abby tell Tim she needed to use his bathroom and head that way, Tony lowered the volume on the television and got back up out of his chair. He was quick to push the bed table out of the way and to gently sit down on bed, locking eyes with his probie.

"You okay, man?" he asked quietly.

Tim nodded, his eyes serious yet full of appreciation for Tony's genuine concern, even as he let his head fall back onto the pillow, to drained to fight it, his eyes closing in exhaustion. Tony was quick to get back up, but didn't go far as he stood watching his friend and partner's chest rise and fall with his steady breathing, a sight Tony would never again take for granted.

"Tony, he's okay." Abby reassured him when she came back, correctly reading his thoughts. "The nurses will be back soon and so will the doctor. They still need to change his bandages so let's let him sleep until they have to wake him up again." She led the way over to the chairs by the window, for once not sitting by Tim's side or holding his hand.

Since the hospital staff would be invading soon enough, none of them wanted to be in the way or disturb Tim any sooner. In complete silence the trio watched their teammate continue to breathe on his own, slumbering as he needed to. Oddly enough, none of them wanted to leave, all of them seemed to be content keeping Tim in their sights. A sight, they'd almost lost for good.

*****NCIS*** **

Ducky and Gibbs walked into the strange sight of his three team members sitting silently against the windows, watching their teammate sleep from across the room. The M.E. immediately approached the end of the patient's bed, picked up Tim's chart and began to peruse it carefully while Gibbs glared at the oddly behaving trio and crooked his finger at them to draw them out into the hall for an explanation.

As soon as things had been explained to him, Gibbs shooed them all off for a well-deserved break, insisting they eat a good breakfast while they were gone. When it was explained to him that two of them had already eaten breakfast, he simply glared at them as if to say, that one didn't count. Returning to his agent's room, he barely had time to walk up to his friend to ask for an update when the doctor returned with two nurses.

"Good morning, gentlemen. I see Agent McGee is being a model patient. I wish there were more like him, eating his entire breakfast and sleeping as much as possible, all ingredients for a good recovery. Now, if you'll excuse us, we really need to perform an updated exam and change his bandages. You can wait out in the hall if you'd like. Someone will let you know when you can come back in."

Silently the M.E. and Team Leader made their way out to the hallway, the conversations and activites in the room never ceasing as they went out.

"Alright, then shall we take a look at the wound site and make sure all is well?"

"Doctor, he hasn't been given his pain medication yet." One of the nurses from earlier spoke up.

"Ah, yes, well, that would be preferable now wouldn't it? Alright, Nurse Brown, go ahead and administer that while I look over the readings from the last 24 hours."

Closing the door behind them, Ducky and Gibbs now watched from the window into Tim's room, as the well-oiled machine that was the team of nurses working with this doctor, performed their duties for their patient, checking, poking, prodding, waking him up, administering medicine, helping to hold Tim's cup while he sipped from the straw they'd provided him with.

It was into the sight of this strange organized chaos that Sarah McGee walked, having not been able to visit with her brother for the last two days thanks to a killer work schedule. As she entered the hallway and stopped at the edge of it, she caught Ducky's attention by her movement and he quickly ushered her to the window so she could see that her brother was doing okay.

"What's going on? Is Tim alright?" She asked in near panic.

"Yes, my dear. Your brother is recovering nicely. The nurses and doctors simply want to make sure they don't miss anything as they change his bandages." Ducky was quick to reassure her.

"Good." She breathed out on a sigh of relief. "I feel really bad that I haven't been able to be here for him. Please tell me you didn't leave him alone at all."

"Rest assured my dear, Timothy was never left without someone there at his side. He has slept most of the time and has not had time to worry that you were not here." The M.E. was once again, quick to tell her what she needed to hear.

"Thank you. That means a lot to me." Sarah replied in a tone that shook from the emotion of the situation at hand.

Gibbs turned to her and looked her straight on. "Believe me, it was the least we could do."


	10. Chapter 10

The remainder of the morning passed in a blur as Tim drifted back to sleep and the team, minus Tony, returned to work. Although they weren't on rotation for fresh cases, they were under the gun to plough through the stack of cold cases as efficiently and with as many results as possible until Tim was at least out of the woods and Tony's fate had been decided by IA.

All things considered, they'd been extremely lucky that they'd been able to hold this vigil at Tim's side all week and as luck would have it, Tony's draw on that luck, was cut short late Thursday morning while Tim was sleeping. Feeling his cell phone vibrate as it rested in his pants pocket, he pulled the device out and checked it to see what he'd missed. With a frown he noted that who had just called him and sighed as he got up and approached Sarah where she sat by Tim's bedside as the younger man slept.

"Sarah, I have to make this call. It's the Director."

The young woman nodded. "Hope everything's okay." She offered.

"That makes two of us." Tony replied seriously as he stepped out to return Vance's call.

Stepping outside the building after a long trek down to the entrance, Tony immediately called the last number that had called him.

_"Director Vance's Office. This is Pamela. How can I help you?"_

"Hey, Pam, it's Tony DiNozzo returning your call."

_"Hi, Tony. Director Vance needs to see you as soon as you can get here."_

"Any idea what for?"

_"IA is waiting with him."_ Was all Pam said. She knew it was all she needed to say.

"Okay." Tony breathed out nervously. "Thanks, Pam."

_"You're welcome. Hope it works out okay. How's Agent McGee?"_

"He's doing better. He's awake, eating and talking; three things he wasn't doing yesterday." Tony shared calmly.

_"That's great!"_

"Yeah. It is, isn't it? Thanks for the heads up. I'll be there soon. I just have to run up to McGee's room and let his sister know I have to leave so she'll know why we're leaving her up there alone."

_"Alright. If Director Vance asks, I'll let him know you'll be here within the hour."_

"Thanks, Pam. You're a peach!"

_"Thank you, Tony."_

"You're welcome, Doll." Tony replied cheekily as he hung up.

A quick trip up to the patient's room and Tony was on his way back to NCIS. Thankfully, Sarah was able to stay behind and be there for her brother. Tony's gut clenched at the realization that IA wasn't finished with him and that knowledge made his stomach drop. _How much more could they want from him?_

Driving back to the Navy Yard, Tony hit the speed dial on his phone.

_"Yeah, Gibbs"_

"Just got called before IA again. Guess they're not done with me yet, Boss." Tony informed the older man with stress evident in his tone.

_"Well, no, DiNozzo, they're not. They haven't figured out how your piece got damaged enough to misfire the way it did."_

"How'd…? Never mind."

"_Only thing that makes sense with it going off the way it did, Tony_." Gibbs attempted to keep calm in the conversation in hopes it would in turn, calm Tony down. _"Thought back to the week before, recall any time it was dropped or put down hard when you set it somewhere, yet?"_

"Uh, no. But I will. Thanks, Boss." Tony replied sincerely.

_" Keep you cool, DiNozzo. Don't let them see you sweat"_ His Team Leader instructed him. _"And keep me updated!"_

"Will do, Boss." Tony said to the air that had now gone dead. _Typical._ He scoffed. _Only Gibbs would deliberately keep things as normal as possible even when his feet were dangling mere inches over the fire._

*****NCIS*****

Gibbs snapped his phone shut and stared at it for a minute.

"Bad news?" Ziva asked as she and Abby entered the squad room from the back elevator. The two had just come back from having lunch together and with work being slow, Abby had been in no hurry to return to her lab just yet.

"Tony. Got called in front of IA again." Gibbs informed them calmly as he returned to his work, going so far as to even begin typing as a show that he wasn't overly concerned about the situation.

"Gibbs! How can you sit there and work at a time like this?" Abby demanded.

"Abby." He looked over at her and stood up from his chair, placing his hands on his desk and leaning forward on them. "Tony is a big boy and he can handle himself in front of the Investigative Board. If he can't, he doesn't belong as Senior Field Agent ."

"Gibbs!"

"That doesn't mean I don't care, Abbs. Just means I have faith in him. Maybe you should too." Sitting back down and getting back to work, he addressed Ziva without even looking her way, "Da'vid, any luck on those background checks you were runnin' before lunch?"

"I will double check on them now, Gibbs. How is McGee? Is someone sitting with him now?"

"Sarah." Gibbs reminded them.

"They haven't had any time together since this whole thing happened, either. This will be good for them." Abby offered into the conversation.

"Yeah. Abbs, don't you have work to do?" The Team Leader asked in the tone that made it a request.

"Yes, Bossman. Abby to the lab." She saluted him with a weak smile, since she was still stung by his offhand suggestion that she wasn't showing faith in Tony. Turning on her heel, she left out, much quieter than usual.

"Gibbs?" Ziva asked from her place in front of his desk, now that Abby had gone and she herself at retraced her steps to his desk.

"They just wanna know when his piece got damaged, Ziva. He'll be fine." He told her before he looked up at her piercingly. "Unless you have anything to offer on that, I suggest you get back to work so they don't ban us all for being unproductive."

She nodded and returned to her desk. "I will let you know if I remember any incident. Although I do not recall him dropping it at any time recently."

"Didn't have to drop it, necessarily, Ziva. Could have just gotten in the habit of letting it fall into his desk drawer from his hand or set it down harder than he should have repeatedly." The Team Leader reminded her.

"Let us hope that he can recall what happened. I do not wish to lose him off this team."

"None of us do." Gibbs replied as he took up his coffee cup and headed out for a refill.

*****NCIS***  
><strong>

Signing in to the building a few minutes later, Tony couldn't help but notice the varied looks sent his way from the first shift of personnel signing out for their lunch hour or in from being out in the field. He saw everything from compassion to accusation. _Yeah, as if he'd do what he did on purpose. Did these people really think that? Great, there goes the dating pool for me. God, DiNozzo, what a prick that makes you!_

Shaken by his own inappropriate thought in the midst of his reality and by his own internal admonishment, Tony shook his head to clear his thoughts. Gibbs was right, he should be thinking of when he'd dropped his gun recently or when he'd set it down angrily or more heavily than it should have been set. Hell, he should have been thinking about that since Gibbs mentioned there had to be something wrong with it, back on Monday! He'd been so wrapped up with worry and guilt about Probie, he hadn't even given a flicker of a thought about his gun. As he deliberately and slowly climbed the stairs, escort in tow, he did begin to think on just that.

*****NCIS*****

Waking groggily, Tim found it disconcerting to still be confused and unsettled every time he woke up. This time however, it was the voice of an angel, albeit a different angel than it had been earlier this morning, that guided him to the knowledge that he was safe, even before his vision had cleared.

"Hey, Tim." Sarah greeted him softly as soon as his eyes began fluttering open. The team had warned her about his sense of confusion every time he woke up and she was prepared to curtail it this time for his benefit.

Looking at her, Tim couldn't help but smile. "Hey, Sis."

"I'm so sorry I haven't been able to be here. Work. Broken down car. But, I hear I missed all the good stuff." She smiled with a wink.

"One way of putting it." He admitted with a thinner smile that was only there for a brief moment. "I'm glad you weren't here for it. I don't think it was fun for anyone."

"Least of all, you, huh? I'm glad your team never left you alone. But, not as glad as I am that you're gonna be okay."

"Thanks. How about you? Are you okay?" Tim asked her as he turned his head on his pillow and looked her straight on, the exhaustion that was plaguing him, still in his eyes.

"I am now."

"Tony left you here alone?" Tim wondered in surprise.

"He got called to a meeting. He'll be back." She told him quickly.

Tim closed his eyes in agony. _IA. Obviously, they're still determined to chew him up and spit Tony out over this_. He really needed to do something about this; now. _The laptop!_ Fighting the tiredness that pulled at him, he turned to his sister once more. "Sarah, can you look for the gym bag Abby was supposed to bring me? I really need to get on the laptop so I can log onto my work email."

"No, Tim! What you need is to rest!"

"Sarah, I need to do this first and I need to do it now. Are you gonna help me or do I have to do it myself?" Tim returned angrily, completely frustrated that Sarah would stand in the way of him being able to do anything to help Tony. "I can't let Tony be thrown to the wolves over this accident. Please, Sarah!"

Blowing out a puff of frustrated air, she got to her feet and went straight to the bag behind the table and set it in the chair beside the bed. Taking the laptop out, she set it down in his lap and powered it up for him.

"Thank you." He offered quietly, his anger gone in the wake of the obvious reluctance in her silent cooperation. "Once I get logged in, would you be willing to type for me if I tell you what I need you to put in, please?"

Finally, Sarah relaxed her anger. Sitting down in the seat as she placed the gym bag on the floor beside the chair, she actually smiled at his unspoken admittance that he didn't have the strength to do it alone. "Of course I'll help you."

"We have to do this right now so we can send it in before they completely ruin Tony's career." Tim worried as he logged into his work email and then sat back tiredly.

Sarah took the laptop from him and got comfortable after forsaking the chair for the space beside him on the bed so he wouldn't have to strain his voice to be heard. "How's the throat?" she worried.

"Almost back to normal. Still scratchy, though." He admitted as he glanced at her with a small smile.

"Painfully scratchy?"

Tim shook his head. "No, I can do this."

"Okay. Tell me what we're doing so we can get started then, big brother."

***NCIS***

Tony skirted the squad room when he came in, not wanting to stall or to get started conversations he couldn't finish or questions he couldn't answer. Arriving in Pam's office, he didn't even have to say anything before she smiled softly and greeted him. "Hi, Tony. Let me announce you're here."

Barely a moment later, he was once again standing before Vance's desk, as IA's Agent's Reed and Taylor were already sitting and waiting at the Director's table. Surprisingly enough, Tony's representative in this case was also present. Tony blinked, the only glimpse he gave them of his surprise at this development. _Maybe they weren't looking to hang him. What were the chances they'd actually listen to reason on this?_

"Agent DiNozzo, please take a moment to confer with Mr. Allen. He can hardly represent you without at least that much being done." Vance spoke as he waved the IA's Agent Representative over and took himself over to the head of the table and sat down.

Tony looked at Mr. Allen. "This about the gun being jammed?"

"Yes. They want a detailed explanation as to how that happened."

"Does this mean they've figured out that it was for real?"

"Yes. But it doesn't get you off the hook. You're responsible for the care and cleaning of your weapon, Agent DiNozzo and for reporting any incident in which it might have gotten damaged like this."

"I know. I'm still not sure how and when it got damaged."

"That's not the answer they're looking for and I'm not sure how much time they're going to be willing to give you to remember." Mr Brown warned.

Tony breathed out a sigh. "I know. Okay. Anything else?"

"No. That's it. How's Agent McGee?"

"Doing better. Eating solid food, breathin' on his on and getting stronger every day." Tony offered. _I hope._

"That's great. He's a great agent and from what I hear a pretty stand-up guy." Mr. Brown offered. "You ready to face this?"

"Yeah, Sure. Let's do this." Tony replied quietly as he turned but let his rep lead the way back to the table, taking care to sit across from him as they sat a space down from the two IA Investigators, who in turn, sat a space down from Vance.

"Alright, then shall we get started?" Vance suggested in the tone he used when it wasn't a suggestion.

***NCIS***

"No!" Sarah argued, her fingers coming away from the laptop keyboard in defiant opposition to her brother's words.

"Sarah, it's the only way! Please, just do this! "

"Because if I don't you'll do it yourself, no matter how much pain you're in or how exhausted you are. Sometimes I really hate your stubborn streak, Timothy McGee!" She vented.

"Yeah, well that stubborn streak helped save your hide more than once, Sis." Tim threw at her with a touch of arrogance as he ploughed through to get what he desperately needed her to do. "I need to use it to help Tony now. And you're right, I will do it without your help if I have to. But, I'd much rather not risk my recovery if at all possible."

"Alright!" Sarah got her fingers busy once more, typing what he'd asked her to input. She wasn't happy about it but she did understand what he was doing. She just hoped it would work out better than he was expecting because if it didn't; her big brother would be out of a job by the end of the hour.


	11. Chapter 11

Pam Cook enjoyed being Leon Vance's Assistant and she enjoyed interacting with the agents and other personnel who passed through her office on a regular basis. Her favorite people, however, were the agents on the MCRT. She liked them because despite being touted as the best in the Agency, they were still very personable and down to earth. She'd cried when she'd heard what had happened down in their squad room and felt a wave of relief when she'd been told that Agent McGee would recover. Seeing Tony have to come before the IA Board not once, but twice, pulled at her heart strings and she hoped he'd come out of this with his brilliant career intact because everyone knew he was a great agent with his background in being a street beat cop in Baltimore serving him extremely well here.

She hadn't sat back down in her chair after letting him into the Director's Office, for more than ten minutes when she received an email she had not been expecting but was quick to open, as anything marked URGENT as in ASAP – usually was. Opening the document, she felt her heart stop. Agent McGee had somehow been able to get online and send her his statement. This was crucial and could change the course of the investigation! _No, Pam, calm down, Think about this. Read through this again. Open that second document_. She chided herself even as she evened out her breathing and clicked on the second document.

Her eyes stopped at the note at the top of the cover page.

_PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL!_

_PAM – Please do not show this to anyone but Director Vance!  
>Please just print it off and hand it to him immediately - before IA is there any longer.<br>_

_Thank you:  
>Agent Tim McGee<br>_

Pam was tempted to read further into the document, but her years of training inthe need for confidentiality any time it was requested, was drilled into her brain, practically ingrained there now and so she did what his note requested and printed off the enclosed document without reading it and quickly knocked on the Director's door, knowing she'd face hell for it, but since the request had come from Agent McGee, she was fairly certain, she'd be given little more than a slap on the wrist for it.

The knock on the door interrupted the meeting and ticked Vance off to no end. He'd been very specific in instructing his Assistant not to let anyone interrupt this meeting. She was normally so dependable he hadn't expected this to happen was more than ready to lamb-baste her for it. Snapping open his door, he practically growled at her. "WHAT is it, Pamela? I specifically tol…"

"Sir, This was emailed to me from Agent McGee. He said it was urgent that you be handed this right now. I apologise for the interruption." She quickly handed him the paper and went back to her desk, unwilling to let him have to focus on her for even another second. His focus needed to be on whatever Agent McGee wanted him to see.

Taking the paper from Pam, Vance frowned as he turned back into his office, shutting and locking the door behind him. Standing there in shock, he almost couldn't make out the words on the page, his eyes blurring with disbelief. Blinking, he perused the paper again.

Letting out a deep breath of frustration, Vance walked to his desk, "Gentleman, let's call for a break. Agent DiNozzo, please wait outside." Standing with his hand on his phone, he waited until the baffled but silent Tony did as he'd been told and left the room, shutting the door behind him as he went, before snatching up the receiver off its' cradle and nearly growling into it. "Get Gibbs up here, now!"

As he dropped the phone back down, he addressed the three men that remained at the table. "Gentlemen, we have a problem."

*****NCIS***  
><strong>

Gibbs read through the same case file for the umpteenth time, his focus on the ongoing meeting upstairs in which the fate of his Senior Field Agent's career was being determined. He didn't want to lose Tony off his team, no one did. But he didn't want this to send Tony's career down the toilet either. He knew that not only would that devastate Tony, but it would also destroy McGee. Despite trying to force the younger man to accept that it wasn't his fault, Gibbs knew McGee well enough to realize that the youngest member of the team would not let go of this sense of being ultimately responsible for this mess and if Tony's career was ruined over it, Tim would never, ever forgive himself.

The loud ringing of his desk phone interrupted his thoughts and he picked it up slowly as if in a fog. "Yeah, Gibbs."

_"Agent, Gibbs Director Vance wants to see you right away."_

"Any idea what it's about?"

_"Probably has something to do with the email Agent McGee sent him and blind copied to you, Sir._" Pam answered truthfully, her worry tainting her voice.

"Thanks. I'll be right up." Gibbs answered as he turned to his email and quickly checked for an email from his recovering agent.

Sure enough, almost lost in the mountain of emails he never checked, was one from McGee. Opening it, he groaned at the sight of an attachment. Thankful he had at least that much knowledge, Gibbs right clicked on it and sent it to the printer before locking his station and quickly heading out, snatching the paper off the printer as he went.

He hadn't taken all of three steps, his eyes on the paper, when he froze. _No! Damn it, McGee!_ Now, his stride was fueled by anger as he ran up the steps, taking them two at a time, ignoring the pain it caused his bad knee. It wasn't but a blur of time before he was in front of Pam's desk, too distracted by the paper in his hand to even notice his Senior Field Agent sitting there behind him, as he looked at her with his silent questioning look. "Go on in, Agent Gibbs. Director Vance is expecting you." She assured him with a small smile.

"Thanks. Appreciate the heads up, too." He offered as he turned and walked into the Director's office, closing it and locking it behind him.

Vance turned to him and noticed the paper in his hand. Approaching him, he looked at the Team Leader with his patented silent questioning look.

"You can't accept this, Leon."

"Wasn't plannin' on it. I'm guessing you just found out about it or you'da been up here already bustin' my chops over it."

"Leon, McGee's doing the only thing he can think of to save his partner. You can't let him fall on his sword like this."

"As you can see, Gibbs, he sent it over my head at the same time that he sent it to you and I. Not a lot I can do except hopefully some damage control. Pretty sure O'Neil's more than competent Secretary has already placed his copy in front of him."

"Let's find out." Gibbs replied.

"Yeah. Let's." Turning to the three men at the table, he spoke to them. " I already stated. We need a break. I should be back in ten minutes. Please make yourselves comfortable. I apologise for the interruption."

As Vance and Gibbs headed out, Vance instructed Pam to help his guests with some coffee and snacks. Looking at Tony, he ordered him to return to his desk, but not to touch anything, not even so much as to look through his desk drawers. With a small nod of agreement that Tony always looked for, the younger man did what he'd been told as the older two men disappeared into MTAC.

*****NCIS*****

Exactly ten minutes later, Gibbs came back to the squad room, angry yet somewhat reassured that his youngest agent's attempt to sabatoge his career for Tony's would only be taken under advisement and not pounced on and accepted the way the agent had wanted.

"Gibbs, what's going on?" Tony asked worriedly.

"Meeting's back in session, DiNozzo, get on up there." Gibbs replied calmly without answering his Senior Field Agent's question.

Watching Tony frown as he headed back out of the squad room and up the stairs, Ziva got up from her desk and approached Gibbs'. "Is something wrong, Gibbs?"

"If by wrong, you mean McGee sending in his resignation, claiming responsibility for this mess and wanting IA to focus thier sanctions on him instead of Tony, then yeah, Ziva, there's definitely something wrong!" Gibbs growled.

"Oh, dear heavens, no!" Ducky's distressed voice reached them even as the M.E. appeared from the back hallway; Abby's tear streaked face right behind him.

"What I wanna know is who the idiot was that gave McGee a laptop so he could use what little strength and stamina's he's got to do that while he's still recovering, in the first place!" The Team Leader's tone was louder now, too angry to temper it.

Abby hung her head. "That would be me, Gibbs I didn't know what he wanted it for but since he asked me, I thought I was doing him a favor and helping him alleviate the bordom of being stuck in the hospital."

"He hasn't had time to be bored, Abby! In case you haven't noticed, he's been able to do nothing but sleep for a reason!"

The shrill sound of Gibbs' cell phone ringing broke into the now tense atmosphere. "Yeah, Gibbs." The Team Leader barked into it.

_"Agent Gibbs. This is Sara McGee. Tim asked me to call you and ask that you not be mad at Abby. He asked her to bring him the laptop. He says if you're gonna be pissed at someone – it should be him."_

"He's got that right! Take that damn thing away from him!" The Team Leader barked irately.

_"Sir, I did the typing. All Tim did was sign in. Then he let me do the work. He's not as much of an idiot as you're probably thinking he is. He's been sleeping ever since he finished telling me what he wanted in it; well as soon as we read through it once."_

Frustrated at her underhanded accusation and at the fact that she was right, Gibbs ran a hand through his hair as he blew out a breath of air. Taking a half- minute to calm down, he finally answered her. "Thank you, Sarah. And you're right. Your brother's not an idiot. I just wish he'd talked to me about this before he went ahead with this."

"I do too, Agent Gibbs." Sarah answered just before she hung up.

"Damn it!" Gibbs muttered as he slid his phone back to his desk.

"Gibbs, I'm sorry." Abby offered plaintively, her arms wrapped around herself in misery before Ducky walked up to her and enveloped her in one of his warm hugs.

"Now, Abigail, we all know that if Timothy's mind was made up to do this, then he would have found some way whether you helped him or not."

"Ducky!" Gibbs growled at the older man's quick attempt at letting the Lab Rat off the hook.

"No, Jethro, you know I speak the truth. We cannot hold this against Abigail and Timothy would be most upset with himself if that were to be the result of his request of her."

"I know. Sarah said she did the work. All McGee did was sign on and tell her what to write. Says he fell back asleep as soon as they were done with it."

"Our young man is smart enough not to jeapordize his recovery, Jethro."

"Yeah, I know." Gibbs breathed out grudgingly. "Just not smart enough not to jeapordize his career." The Team Leader bit out, as his eyes once again returned to the office door in the corner, at the top of the stairs.

******NCIS******

Vance was already sitting at the meeting table when Tony returned, but this team each of the three men sitting at the table were holding a piece of paper, carefully reading it. As Tony approached the table, the paper in each of their hands was quickly stuffed into the folder that each of them had in front of them, their folded hands immediately coming to rest on top of that folder. Tony smirked. _Yeah, tell me how many takes it took you guys to get that in snych_?

"Agent DiNozzo, as we stated earlier, the focus of this inquiry has turned now to the question of when and where your gun was damaged and why it was not reported at the time that damage occurred." Agent Reed relayed without any further delay.

As Tony opened his mouth to say something, his representative held up his hand in front of Tony, willing him to stop. Snapping his mouth shut, the Agent did as he rep recommended.

Agent Reed continued on. "Now, I, excuse me, _we_ understand that it doesn't have to have been an extreme situation that damaged the gun. We are well aware that it could have just been a case of repeated less than careful handling of it. Which is why we're giving you 48 hours to think back and call to mind exactly how it is your gun could have become damaged enough that it would misfire the way it did and submit that to us in writing, with a copy, of course, going to Director Vance and one to your immediate supervisor, Special Agent Gibbs."

The Agent took a breath and used the time to scrutinize Tony's reaction but was satisfied when he saw none. Taking another breath, he slowly let it out and picked up where he'd left off. "Keep in mind, Agent Dinozzo, this does not excuse you from the charge surrounding the fact that your weapon was loaded inside the Federal building or the charge that the safety was not on your weapon inside the building. All total, you are facing three charges and we will be meeting again to discuss the final decision of the board, _after _you submit that explanation to us. There will be no extension on that deadline. We'll expect to see your report on time."

"Any questions?" His representative asked him quietly.

"No." Tony replied meekly.

"Will that be all?" Mr. Brown asked to the three men conducting the meeting.

"Yes." The IA Agents replied in tandem.

"Agent DiNozzo, you're dismissed." Director Vance stated as he looked Tony head on. "Please give our regards to your partner when you return to the hospital to check on him."

Tony nodded, shook his representative's hand in thanks and slowly and silently left the room, his head in a fog. _What the hell was on that paper that no one wanted him to know about? Was that the same paper Gibbs had earlier? Was that why he'd been called up here and got to interrupt the meeting? Why the hell had the boss looked so pissed? What the hell was going on?_


	12. Chapter 12

Tim woke up groggily from his nap, took a minute to regain his bearings and found his sister watching him shrewedly, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"Hey." He offered huskily as his throat scratched out the words.

"Hey, yourself." She quietly greeted him back before reaching over for the freshly re-filled cup of ice chips held the cup close to him where he could reach in and get one for himself.. She'd have put it in his mouth for him, but somehow she sensed that he'd had all the being waited on that he could tolerate for one day.

"Thanks." Tim offered genuinely.

Sarah nodded. "Called Gibbs like you asked me to. Turns out you were right."

"Just how mad is he?" Tim asked worriedly.

"Well, let's see, when I told him you said that if he was gonna be pissed at someone it should be you, his answer was: "_He's got that right! Take that damn thing away from him!_"

"Crap! You did tell him that …" Tim worried.

"Relax, big brother. I told him that I had done all the work and that you're not the idiot he takes you for. Told him you went to sleep as soon as we finished reading through it.

"Whew! Thanks, Sis. What'd he say to that?" Tim pushed.

"He said: _"Thank you, Sarah. And you're right. Your brother's not an idiot. I just wish he'd talked to me about this before he went ahead with it."_

"Thank you!" Tim offered wearily as the effort of having this conversation began weighing him down.

"I'm not sure you're welcome, except since I know it helped ward off his less than positive view of you over it, I guess you are. Doesn't mean I like the way you chose to handle this."

"Yeah, I gathered that already." Tim answered quietly. "But, I couldn't sit by and know Tony's career was in danger and not do anything to stop it."

"That much is understandable, Tim. Just like it's completely understandable if Gibbs marches in here later on today and reams you out for not talking to him about it first. For once, I agree with the man."

"Yeah, okay, maybe I should have. But he's been so busy trying to make me see that it wasn't my fault, that I wouldn't have been able to get him to see why it was my fault and my responsibility to accept the consequences." Tim pushed himself to make his point.

Sarah sighed impatiently. "I'm done arguing with you about it. You need your rest and the doctors and nurses will tan my hide if you don't get any while I'm in here, not to mention Gibbs. And since you've already gotten him good and pissed at you, I damn sure don't want him on my ass about anything right now! Go back to sleep! Now!"

Tim huffed out a laugh even though it sent a sharp spasm of excruciating pain through his chest.

Sarah's face turned ashen as her brother began struggling to breathe and she quickly reached over and pushed the nurse's call button to get him some help as she helplessly watched him endure the pain and the oncoming panic that came with it.

Tim stubbornly tried to get his words out with what little breath he managed to regain once his breathing had begun coming back in rhythm"Oh, God! Sarah, don't make me laugh like that!"

Even as he struggled to say those words to her, she stepped back out of the way while the nurses practically flew into the room in response and began working to ease his pain and his breathing, quickly slipping a breathing mask over his face as they did so. Once they'd gotten his breathing calmed and his next dose of pain medication administered, one of the nurses glared at Sarah and practically growled at her.

"This cannot happen again! It is not condusive to his recovery. Now, sister or not; any more of this and all visitors will be banned from Agent McGee's room until further notice!" she warned before stalking from the room in a huff.

Exhausted and in the grips of the medicated sleep pulling at him now, Tim had all he could do to apologise to her with his eyes just before they closed, taking him away to rest. With tears in her eyes, she quickly set about removing all traces of the laptop and it's power cord that the nurses had been too busy to notice before.

Once the gymbag was safely stowed away in the closet of the room, she went to sit by the window so she could look out while her big brother slept. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she couldn't help but wish her parents were here to help her hold on. She wasn't sure how much more she could take.

*****NCIS*****

Endless minutes went by as Sarah stared out the window, not seeing anything behind the sheen of tears in her eyes. This was the first time since her big brother had gotten shot while sitting at his desk, that she'd had time to process it all, added to the tongue lashing the nurse just gave her - and she was barely able to keep from giving in to the urge to lay down next to her brother and cry her eyes out. A person could only be so strong for so long before they needed to slow down and let the stress out before it killed them. She just wished she didn't feel so alone.

"Hey." The almost too soft voice of Gibbs reached her ears as his comforting hand found her shoulder. "You okay?"

Shaking her head silently, her shoulders shook from the strength of her silent sobs. She'd been holding herself together for days now, trying to work and stay strong for her brother when she could be here for him and with this latest development that the nurses were blaming her for, the damn had silently flooded the levee in a giant wave that threatened to swallow her whole.

"C'mon, you need a break." Gibbs told her quietly as he led her from the room.

Tony exchanged glances with the boss as the older man led their probie's sister from the room. Sitting down in the chair by the bed, Tony resolved to remain there, watching his teammate sleep.

"Oh, Probie. You have to get better so you can help me fix this mess that I made. It's so big, Gibbs is being nice to me."

*****NCIS*****

Ziva stared at the desk across the room, her heart aching for the recovering agent who she cared for like a brother. With a sigh of frustration, her eyes traveled to the desk directly across from hers, feeling an equal twinge in her soul for the agent who also was like a brother to her and whose career was on the line. Her thoughts returned to the conversation that had taken place in the squad room earlier as Tony had gone back to the meeting with IA.

_"Our young man is smart enough not to jeapordize his recovery, Jethro."_

_"Yeah, I know." Gibbs breathed out grudgingly. "Just not smart enough not to jeapordize his career." The Team Leader bit out, as his eyes once again returned to the office door in the corner, at the top of the stairs._

_"Tony does not know of McGee's actions on his behalf, does he?" Ziva questioned quietly._

_"No. No, he doesn't and I don't want him finding out either." Gibbs replied sternly as he looked up at her and then at the others in turn. "He finds out McGee tried to throw himself under the bus for him and there'll be no stopping him from tearin' a strip of McGee's hide."_

_"Yes, and that is the last thing our patient needs." Ducky reminded them._

_"Yeah, well, not sure what he expects DiNozzo's reaction to be, but he has to know it's not gonna be a good one."_

_"Tony will find out. Of that we can be certain." Ziva warned._

_"Hopefully by the time he does, the dust will have settled and everyone will have had a chance to calm down." Gibbs offered. "In the meantime, no one says a word to Tony about it. Ziva, want you to go tell Abby to keep a lid on this. A tight lid." _

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Ziva worried that Gibbs might be inadvertently turning up the heat on what might turn out to be a very explosive situation. Tony would most definitely not be happy with McGee's choices in this and would be most upset at not knowing until after the fact. McGee would defend his own actions strenuously which would add to his stress. With that thought, it became clear to her as to why Gibbs didn't want this to blow up now. McGee still needed to recover from his injuries without any stress, if at all possible.

Looking at her watch now, Ziva smiled. She'd made it through the end of the day. She'd been surprised to find the squad room empty when she returned from talking to Abby. But, she'd been even more surprised to find the note Gibbs left her on her desk.

_Taking Tony to see McGee.  
>You can go home at 6<em>

Closing up her work station, she headed down to Abby's lab to walk out with their favorite Forensic Scientist, since they'd agreed to have dinner together with Ducky and Jimmy before going to visit McGee later on.

*****NCIS*****

"Guess I don't have to ask how you're holdin' up." Gibbs remarked sympathetically as he walked with Sarah to the cafeteria.

"I know. Tim would be disappointed in me if he saw me like this." She replied shakily.

"No he wouldn't." The Team Leader corrected quietly. "He'd be upset. And he'd wanna know what was runnin' through your mind that has you so upset."

Sarah smiled. "You're right. I guess you know him better than I gave you credit for."

As they reached the cafeteria, Gibbs snagged two cups of coffee and joined Sarah at the table she'd sat down at, placing one cup of coffee in front of her. "I may not be your brother, but I'm a pretty good listener."

Sarah shook her head. "I couldn't. Tim's always telling me that you're not a very talkative person. it's his excuse whenever I ask him why he won't talk to you about anything."

"Like what?" Gibbs asked quietly, thrown by this admission that his agent refused to come to him.

The young lady shrugged her shoulders. "Anytime he comes home upset about something. He never goes into any detail. I think it's becuase he expects me to call on you guys if he's ever not available when I need help and he doesn't want me to think badly of any of you."

"Any particular reason you would; think badly of us?" Gibbs pushed without changing his tone or volume.

"Agent Gibbs. Tim may not tell me what goes on between his teammates and himself; but my parents did not raise idiots. I know when someone's treated him like crap or walked all over him. He doesn't get upset easy but when he does get there - it's usually a whole pile of crap that's built up or something very big and serious."

Gibbs silently sipped his coffee while he thought on what she'd said. Finally, after a few minutes he deliberately ignored what she'd just said and brought the conversation back where he needed it to go. He'd address the other stuff she was letting him in on, later."What's botherin' you, Sarah? We both know you need to get it out so your brother won't pick up on it." So talk to me. What's got you so upset?"

As she relayed to her brother's boss what had taken place before he'd arrived, the Team Leader had to smile, for all of about a minute before he frowned at how the situation had ended for both of the McGee siblings. Wanting to make sure she had a chance to calm down and to eat a decent meal, he coaxed her into getting up and getting some dinner while he remained at the table thinking on things and drinking his coffee.

*****NCIS*****

Tim woke from his nap, less disorientated than the last time, but with the sense that something less than pleasant had taken place earlier that he needed to fix. Sarah. _Sarah!_ Looking around, he found not his sister sitting at his bedside, but his teammate and friend.

"Hey, Mcsleepyhead. Feeling better?" Tony asked quietly from his seat in the chair next to the bed where he'd literally been watching Tim wake up.

"A little. How are you doin', Tony?" Tim was careful to keep his voice calm.

"Other than being stuck on something I've got less than 48 hours to figure out, I'm just peachy." Tony remarked with just enough sarcasm that Tim could feel the older man's frustration.

"Talk to me, Tony. What is it you need to figure out?"

"Nah. Not gonna bother you with any of it. Hear you've been a model patient, Probie. Why you gonna go and ruin things for the rest of us who despise the very concept ?" Tony was quick to joke with a grin.

Tim smiled without replying. After a minute, the smile turned to a frown as his thoughts began to lead him to something that confused him. "Tony. Were you saying something earlier about fixing a mess?

"Hey! You weren't really asleep, were you?" The Senior Field Agent scolded with a knowing grin.

Tim smiled softly. He knew Tony knew better but the banter felt almost normal again and it was nice to hear.

"Gibbs is being nice to me, Probie. He even stopped working and gave me a ride over here about an hour ago. Tell me that's not a sign of just how deep this hole is I've dug myself into. We're talkin' worse than any of the dog houses you've gotten stuck in over the years, Probie." Tony explained seriously as his voice altered at the end, letting a touch of his concern for his own future leak out.

"I'm guessing this have something to do with whatever it is you have to figure out in less than 48 hours." Tim reasoned quietly, deliberately not mentioning Tony's attempts at humor or play on words.

Tony nodded. "Yeah." His voice finally gave in to the stress the situation called for.

"Tony. You may not ever stop laughing at my attempts at offering to be there when you need someone to talk to, but we're both here now and I'm more than willing to listen. Talk to me." Tim encouraged quietly with not censure or criticism in his voice.

"McGee…" Tony couldn't help but try to defend his previous attitudes on the subject.

"No, Tony. Don't turn this into something it's not. Talk to me about this 48 hours." Tim insisted.

"Okay…."

*****NCIS******

Gibbs and Sarah returned to Tim's room a short thirty minutes later, to find Tim snoozing once again and Tony looking like he'd finally had time to think on things and was feeling better about whatever those things were. Having been asked by Gibbs, not to tell Tony of her brother's actions, Sarah was at a loss as to what she could say to the seasoned agent who's career her brother was very worried about.

She hated not being able to talk to Tony about this, but knew that whatever she had to say would, in all likelihood, do little to make him feel better or even help. A voice inside her head told her that he might need a sounding board that wasn't as close to the situation as her brother or the other team members were and so she found herself offering to go with him to get coffee while Gibbs took his seat and his turn at being there for Tim.

"Thanks, Sarah. " Tony offered quietly, his feeling of being uncomfortable around her, quite obvious in his posture.

"You don't want to talk to me, do you?" She asked him knowingly.

"It's not that. It's…."

"Tony. I don't blame you if that's what you've been thinking. This was an accident. I know that." Sarah was quick to tell him. "I know we haven't exactly had time to talk about it since it happened, but I would like for you to stop beating yourself up over it; if for no other reason, then to help Tim start to believe that you're gonna be okay. How this is affecting you is really tearing him up inside."

"He's worried about me?" Tony asked in surprise.

"Why does that surprise you?" Sarah asked as she stopped walking and turned to look him straight on, anger filling her eyes.

"Sorry, I'm just…. I'm distracted; got a lot on my mind. It doesn't surprise me, it just took me a minute."

"I'm sorry, too. This is all such a mess. I wish my mom was here." Sarah admitted forlornly.

"Isn't she coming?" Tony asked in surprise.

"No. She's expected to accompany my father on his stupid quests to find nature when he takes vacations like this. He does this every year – a month of her life just sucked up into his vacuum – while her other life is put on hold like everyone in it doesn't matter." Sarah replied with the heat of anger.

"I take it you're not a big fan of this safari of theirs." Tony sympathized.

"These trips they take are excuses my father uses to keep my mom from reconnecting with Tim. He hates that my brother still manages to stay close to her despite the fact that he and my father are pissed at each other and haven't spoken in seven years."

"Wow. Seven years! Probie's never mentioned that." Tony was genuinely shocked and couldn't even hide it.

"I would have been surprised if he had, Tony. Tim doesn't like to talk about it, even with me all. I can't imagine how devasting it must be to be estranged from your father just because you won't follow in his footsteps."

"What about your grandmother? Doesn't she…?"

"She managed to talk Tim into calling home after you guys solved the case where she was in danger. Penny was convinced that my father was more than ready to bury the hatchet and start fresh with my brother. Apparently, that didn't work out at all. That's all Tim would tell me. Even Penny won't talk about it now." Sarah answered sadly.

"Wow. Sorry to hear about that. Wish I'd known…"

"No. And you didn't hear any of this from me." Sarah warned.

"Gotcha. What were we talkin' about, anyway?" Tony replied as they entered the cafeteria and let the noise surround them, buffering them from the worry and stress, at least for now.


	13. Chapter 13

"Something bothering you, Jethro?" Ducky asked quietly as he stood scrutinizing his friend after having entered Tim's room alone a few minutes ago; some thirty minutes after Tony had gone for dinner with Sarah and still not been detected by the younger man.

"Sarah made sure to tell me her brother's not the idiot I take him for." Gibbs volunteered unexpectedly.

"You don't seriously believe that badly of Timothy. If you did, you would never have kept him on your team." The M.E. argued gently.

"Not so sure with this idiotic stunt he pulled this morning, Duck." The Team Leader admitted.

"Nonsense. You've been equally as cross with Anthony with some of the situations and decisions he has made over the years. It's a natural reaction between a Team Leader and his team members and even between a father figure and the youngsters he's come to view and care for as his own children."

"Duck." Gibbs breathed out painfully.

"Jethro, there is no use in denying that you are their father figure and the one they count on and rely on and trust to watch their backs and watch out for their well-beings in times such as this."

"That why Saraj says her brother refuses to come to me when he needs to? He told her it's because I'm not the talking type."

"I am not surprised. However, you obviously are. I would advise you to work at fixing this now that you've been privilaged with the information, Jethro. As I said, you are their father figure, no matter if they feel comfortable coming to you or not."

"Not sure how that helps, Doc." The younger man hedged warningly.

"What I'm trying to say, Jethro, is that Timothy will be most willing to accept whatever you have to say on the matter, so long as you remember to temper it with the compassion and patience you do extend to the others when they need it, as he needs it too. That is something a father would do."

"Alright. You made your point." Gibbs nearly growled as he glared at his friend.

"Good. Now that we've cleared the air on that, I shall go speak with Timothy's doctor and get an update."

"Get him to take that nurse that chewed Sarah out, down a peg while you're at it, will ya, Duck?"

"Oh, yes, I heard about that from one of the other nurses as I came in. I shall certainly see what I can do. The poor girl does not need to be treated like that with everything she is going through." The M.E. agreed with a touch of anger on Sarah's behalf.

"I agree." Gibbs volunteered as he watched Ducky head out of the room, leaving him alone with his agent for the first time since the younger man had tried to fall on his sword earlier that morning. As badly as he wanted to talk to Tim about today's events, the Team leader didn't want to risk an audience for it, so he chose to bide his time, pilfering through a magazine while Tim slept.

From across the room, Tim's face was suspiciously wet after hearing the two older men talk. Rather than draw attention to himself by wiping his face dry with his hands, he turned his head in one direction and rested it there momentarily before turning it towards the window; the side of the room Gibbs was sitting on, hoping the eagle-eyed man wouldn't notice.

Seeing movement in his peripheral vision, Gibbs set the magazine down in his lap and scrutinized his agent silently. Frowning at the restlessness he was seeing evidence of, the older man stood and approached the bed, sitting down in the chair next to it. "McGee." He spoke quietly.

Trying to keep his breath even, Tim opened his eyes and looked the older man straight on, without saying anything. He didn't know what to say and he definitely did not want to jump from the frying pan into the fire when he knew this man was already upset with him.

"Okay?" The boss asked compassionately.

"Yeah." Tim answered with gratitude, his tone so soft, the boss almost missed it.

Gibbs nodded silently, his eyes not leaving those of his agent.

"Boss, I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about it first." Tim finally offered as he held the man's gaze.

"We'll talk about it later. Don't want it getting back to DiNozzo." Gibbs instructed quietly.

Tim nodded even as he felt the coil of tension from this unresolved issue begin to take up space in his gut. Suddenly the air between them seemed to turn negative as the tension settled in like a dreary fog. For a few silent minutes, neither said anything, although Tim's mind wouldn't stop tormenting him about what was coming next when 'later' got there.

"McGee. Drop it." The quiet warning surprised him since it clearly meant that the boss was mind reading again.

"I'll try." Tim replied with a surprising dose of quiet honesty. "I can't promise that I can stop worrying about this."

"Worrying about what, Probie?" Tony's question startled Tim even as Gibbs seemed to take the Senior Field Agent's sudden appearance along with that of Sarah McGee in stride.

"Hey, Tony. Sarah." Tim greeted quietly, successfully changing the temperature in the room as well as the conversation..

"Hey, big brother." Sarah offered with a small smile as she bent over and kissed him on the cheek.

"Hey. You okay?" her brother worried immediately since he remembered the awful situation she'd been placed in earlier, thanks to him.

"I'm fine. Thanks to your boss and your teammate here, I've even had dinner already."

"Thank you, Boss. Tony."

"No need to thank us, McGee. That's what family does for each other." Gibbs reminded him calmly.

Tim nodded in silent agreement, falling silent since he didn't know what else to say.

Before anything else could be said by anyone, the patient's dinner tray was wheeled in and from the looks of things, Tony could see that Tim was worried about having the strength to feed himself. _Or was he worried about not looking strong in front of them?_

Before Tony could say anything, Ducky took the tension filled silent situation in hand. "Sarah, my dear, why don't you allow an old man and a slightly younger one take you for a cup of coffee while these two whipper snappers talk and find a way to keep each other company without either of them firing a shot across the other's bow?"

Sarah smiled at Ducky's play on words and willingly agreed, realizing her brother didn't need an audience to eat his dinner with. "Sure Doctor Mallard, I'd be honored."

Exchanging another glance with both of his boys in turn, Gibbs followed the M.E. out, leaving his agents alone at least for the time being. Whipping out his phone. he called the girls who'd stopped off with Jimmy, at the hospital gift shop after their arrival from dinner with Ducky and presumably gotten lost along the way. "Hey, you three, meet us in the cafeterai before you go to McGee's room."

Putting his phone away, he breathed a sigh of relief. Now maybe Tim and Tony could find a more comfortable level of something between the two of them and help move this mess along toward a resolution.

*****NCIS*****

"You should at least try, Probie. I know your arm feels real weak, but you have to build it up from somewhere. Considering it's not even the arm that's strapped with an iv, it's your best shot at regaining your independence, man."

Tim nodded as he began trying to eat. "Thanks."

"No sweat. You need help, just let me know. Meanwhile, I'm gonna see what nonsense they're filling up the network time with now."

Tim smiled as he worked at taking a minute to exercise his arm before bringing it all the way up to his dinner spread that Tony had moved over for him so that it was directly in front of him.

Thirty frustrating yet satisfying minutes later, Tim was nearly through all of his dinner with Tony keeping an inconspicuous eye on him for signs of trouble. Feeling completely wiped out, Tim flopped back against his pillows and breathed out loudly.

"Done, Probie?" Tony asked as he finally looked his friend straight on.

"As much as I can eat."

"Meaning you're full or meaning you don't have any more energy?"

"Both." Tim admitted.

Tony nodded. "Alright then. Off to the land of nod for you." Tony announced in a sing-song tone, bringing a smile to Tim's face.

"Thanks, Tony."

"No sweat, man. You keep being such a model patient and they might actually let you outta here before your next birthday."

Tim smiled softly as the exhaustion that had been pulling at him for the last hour, finally won out and his eyes closed, his breathing evening out into that of a restful sleep.

Tony moved the dinner tray out of the way and went to the closet to see what Tim would need for clothes to wear home. Spying the gym bag, Tony frowned. Picking the bag up, he set it down in the chair and opened it up, shocked to find the laptop. it wasn't long before he'd pulled it out and was typing away on the word program. needing to type up the explanation for IA.

Since he and Tim had talked about the situation not too long ago, it was still fresh on his mind and he hoped he could get it done to their satisfaction and soon. This mess needed to be wrapped up once and for all, no matter what the conseqences he would be facing.

***NCIS***

After a restful night with no further problems, Tim woke up to a new day and a new feeling that things were going to get better. Remembering Tony's advice from the night before, he began a regimen of exercising his arms and even his fingers on his free hand, as well as flexing the fingers on the hand tied up with iv lines.

Looking over at the still sleeping Senior Field Agent, Tim smiled. Poor Tony, feeling so guilty, he wasn't even aware he was acting almost as different towards Tim as Gibbs was towards both of them. It was time someone let him off the hook. As his breakfast arrived, Tim silently made the sign for the cafeteria person to be quiet as to not wake the older young man up, and carefully worked to eat his own breakfast without disturbing his teammate. It took him nearly as long as it had the night before, but at least, Tony was given the chance to rest this time.

When Tony did finally wake up, he took the time to stretch, finding himself amused for a minute at the bored look on Tim's face. "What's the matter, Probie, am I not entertaining enough for you?" he griped good naturedly.

Tim grinned. "Something like that. You really should go home, Tony. order yourself a pizza for lunch and take a decent nap and a shower or something."

"You kickin' me out, Probie?" Tony asked in surprise.

"Yup. It's time for you to go." the younger man answered with a grin.

"Alright. Hey, can I borrow the laptop? I kinda started my report on it for IA and I need to finish it."

"Yeah. Sure." Tim allowed without worrying about it.

"Alright, McPatient. Since you've been a good patient and eaten your breakfast, I'll leave you to your naps and your nurses, so long as you promise not to elope with any of them."

"Funny, Tony. Just promise me, you'll get some food in you and get some real sleep."

"No sweat. Definately gonna do both."

"Good. Now get going!" Tim pushed.

"Jeez, McBossy." Tony snarked with a grin.

"See you tonight with the others, Tony." Tim offered.

"Yeah, we can do that. See ya tonight. You need something, you better call me."

"I will. I promise."

"Alright. Later then." Tony said as he headed out, leaving Tim alone for the first time since the awful shooting on Monday.


	14. Chapter 14

With Tim determined to let everyone get back to the business of living their lives without him being their main focus, his day became one of restless boredom rather quickly since sleep wasn't quite so easy to come by now. When his doctor paid him a visit at mid-morning, the young man was quick to inquire about the length of his stay as well as the status of his recovery.

Armed with the knowledge that he'd be able to be discharged in a few days, he'd bargained with the medical professional, asking if being released into another medical professional's care would shorten his hospital stay. Somehow, Tim was able to remain calm while the doctor smiled and remained silent for a minute before he launched into his lengthy response that was full of reasons and expectations

The doctor had smiled because he'd been warned by Ducky and Gibbs that this would be Tim's way of thinking. He'd weighed the pros and cons and discussed it at length with the M.E. just the day before. Together, they'd come to the conclusion that Gibbs was right. Tim would be more inclined to rest easy and work on his recovery if he was in a more comfortable setting with plenty of distractions like visitations without restrictions and endless choices on reading to belay his boredom.

Since Ducky was more than capable of keeping an eye on him and changing his bandages, there was no reason for Tim to remain hospitalized any longer than necessary. "It's my understanding that Doctor Mallard will be here to take you home in the morning. Will that be soon enough for you?" The doctor asked with a smile.

"Yeah." Tim admitted sheepishly. "I'm surprised. I thought sure you'd make me stay here for another week."

"Yes, well, while it is advisable, I've been promised that you will receive the same care and treatment under Doctor Mallard's roof and with his expertise. Since there is little more that we would be doing for you if you were here, I see no reason to lengthen your stay."

"Thank you." Tim smiled.

"However, if I find that you have disregarded the medical stipulations for your release, just once, Doctor Mallard is under strict instructions to return you to me. Agent Gibbs was very adamant that no one, including yourself, be allowed to put your complete recovery at risk and I agree with him completely."

Tim smiled softly. He was touched that Gibbs cared enough to voice his concern under the guise of his orders and instructions. Thinking back over the week he'd just had in the hospital, he realized his entire team had done the same thing, dropping nearly everything to be there for him; even when he was completely out of it, as Gibbs had told him, he'd been for the first two and a half days. With that in mind, he couldn't help but be convinced that it was time to return the favor and move things along, letting things go back to as normal as possible.

*****NCIS*****

"Jethro, I'll not be in in the morning. You'll need to call me if you should have need of my services beyond what Mr. Palmer is quite capable of performing." Ducky reminded his friend later that afternoon.

"What's going on, Duck? You alright?" Gibbs asked immediately, his eyes showing his concern.

"Oh, I'm quite fine, Jethro. I simply need to check Timothy out of the hospital and get him settled in at my house and make certain his transition goes as smoothly as possible."

"Let the others help with that, Duck."

"That won't be necessary." Ducky objected.

"Ducky. Tony can help you move McGee around and Abby and Ziva can take care of the cooking and waitin' on him until he does settle in." Gibbs pushed.

"Yes, well, that might be a good idea."

"You know it is." Gibbs reminded him as he pulled out his phone and called his agents. "Ziva, you, Tony and Abby meet up with Ducky tonight at his place, 1700. He needs your help with something. Somebody locate Palmer and get him to help too."

Putting his phone away, Gibbs glanced at his friend. "Anything else?"

"No, Jethro. I believe that will be most helpful."

"Not just to you and McGee either, Duck. DiNozzo's got a lot on him with IA breathing down his neck about his gun's discharge. He could use this chance to think about something besides what they might be planning to do to him."

"Ah, yes. Perhaps we can dendeavor to help him with that." Ducky replied with a twinkle in his eye.

******NCIS******

Time seemed to fly for the next 24 hours until all of a sudden Tim had been checked out of the hospital and was settled in at Ducky's with the team fluttering around trying to help make sure he was resting quite comfortably on the queen-sized bed in the guest room. Since the trip from the hospital had taken what energy and stamina Tim had in store, he was quick to fall asleep as soon as he was able to sit comfortably with his back against the wall.

Thankful that the M.E. had borrowed a wheelchair to assist with transporting Tim from the car to the house and now sat waiting for any trip Tim would need to anywhere inside the house, they relished the fact that they'd made the transition as easy as they possibly could have for him. Once everything had been done for the patient that could be, Ducky was quick to send the team back to work, leaving Tony to keep Tim company once more, this time in enough comfort that even Tony found some rest.

*****NCIS*****

Later that night, the team reconvened at Ducky's to help make sure everyone got fed and pitched in to help look after Tim. Gibbs and Tony helped the patient make the painstakingly slow transition from the bed into the wheelchair Ducky had borrowed for him to use and the Senior Field Agent pushed his teammate to the bathroom, assisting him with standing up so he could take care of business. Helping him sit back down and then wheeling him back to the bed, Tony took a minute to sit on the bed, facing Tim.

"How you feelin', Probie?"

"Like I just ran a marathon." Tim griped with a full dose of disappointment clearly directed at himself.

"Hey, cut yourself some slack, alright? It's gonna take some time to regain your strength." Tony reminded him.

"McGee." Gibbs spoke from behind Tim, where he'd come to stand and listen and take part of this pep talk.

"Boss?" Tim asked without being able to turn to look at the man.

"Don't push yourself. Expect too much too fast and you'll only stress yourself out; make it harder on yourself; Tony and Ducky too."

Tim nodded. "Okay."

The next few minutes were eaten up by the older two men's focus on getting the patient back into bed and resting comfortably once more. Once that had been accomplished, Tony picked up the conversational ball and ran with it.

"You know we've both been where you're at, Probie. We know it's hell having to fight to get your strength back. But, like the boss said, it's not gonna help to push too hard." Tony sympathized.

"I know." Tim admitted. "I'll try to remember."

"Get some sleep. Any trouble, you make sure you let Ducky know." Gibbs ordered calmly. "Tony's taking the day shift. Any problems, you tell him. I find out you're witholding anything and you'll answer to me."

""I promise, I'll let them know if I have any problem., Boss."

"See you tomorrow, McGee. Tony." Gibbs left the bedroom, leaving Tony alone with Tim. It wasn't but a minute later that Tony stepped out to get Tim a refill of his water, almost running into Abby and Ziva as he did. "Hey, ladies. I'll be right back."

"Hey, Timmy. How are you feeling?" Abby asked with her normal effervescent cheer as she entered the bedroom. Glancing around as she waited for Tim to answer, she failed to notice he'd almost fallen asleep but she did notice the laptop Tony had brought in, set up and turned on to the email he was writing, on the small desk. Turning to look at Tim in shock, she blurted out, "I thought Tony wasn't supposed to know about this!"

"Abby, it…." Tim attempted to answer sleepily, only to be interrupted.

"Tony's not supposed to know about what?" Tony asked darkly as he stood in the doorway of the guest room.

"It's nothing." Tim mumbled sleepily.

"It's obviously not nothing, McGee or Abby wouldn't have brought it up! What is it I'm not supposed to see?"

Gibbs spoke from just behind Tony, his voice quiet and strained as he tried to pull their attention off his youngest agent who obviously needed to be allowed to sleep now. "Out here, now!"

*****NCIS*****

Thirty minutes later and Tony's feet were pounding the pavement harshly, each bone-jarring footfall slightly more intense than the one before it, as he tried to work through what he'd just found out**. **As soon as that email had registered on his brain, it was as if Tony's brain screamed for some air. He'd mumbled something about running and being back in fifteen minutes before he'd sprinted for the door, completely forgetting that he was not familiar with Ducky's neighborhood. He couldn't believe it. _How could his probie do this without telling him? Better still, how was it everyone knew but him? Why would they keep this from him?_

The more the questions rolled around in his head, the angrier he became. _He was the Senior Field Agent, damn it! He should NEVER be the last to know what was going on with someone on the team, especially when it had to do with him, in the first place!_ Almost immediately, his mind flew back to the vivid recollection of the email that was nearly burned into his memory now.

_Thursday, May 28, 2010_

_To Whom It May Concern:_

_Please accept this as my immediate resignation from NCIS, due to negligence and gross misconduct on my part for the incident in the squad room on Monday, May 24, 2010. This incident, in which Agent DiNozzo's gun slipped from his grasp and hit the floor, discharging as it landed, resulting in myself getting shot, was entirely my fault._

Had I not been giving him a hard time and distracting him, this sad domino effect of events would not have happened.

Please allow me to accept the responsibility and consequences as deemed culpable.

Thank you for your time and consideration on this matter.

Timothy McGee.

Anger burned within Tony's gut at his partner's decision to do this, especially when he recalled the boss' anger earlier in the week when he came up to the Director's Office. _Oh, crap! THAT'S what that paper was the guys from IA were reading! Damn it! Oh, hell! I hope they don't eat him alive over this! _

** ***NCIS*****

For the people left behind in his wake, the aftershocks were still being felt. Gibbs couldn't stop glaring at his lab rat, completely and utterly pissed at her for her blatent disregard for his order for the 'tight lid' on this matter. All the apologizing in the world wouldn't undo the damage her less than tactful running off at the mouth had done. Wordlessly, he left the others in Ducky's office and headed back to the kitchen. If he was lucky, his friend would have a good bottle of bourbon handy.

*****NCIS*****

Ziva stood outside, waiting for Tony's return. As he found Ducky's driveway once more, his pace slowed to a slow walk, his breathing still out of sorts and his mind nowhere near any calmer than he'd been when he'd taken off. Not waiting for him to speak, she broke the silence first.

"He did it for you." She told him solemnly as he paced restlessly in front of her.

"I never asked him to sacrifice his career for mine!" Tony shouted angrily. "What gave him the right to make that decision, Ziva?"

"His conscience." She answered him quietly. "He firmly believes that this was his fault. Even Gibbs has been unable to convince him differently."

Tony clumsily sat down on the porch steps beside her. "Doesn't give him the right to throw away his own career." He muttered angrily.

"Perhaps not. Nevertheless, it is not for you to decide what sacrifices he is allowed to make. He cares for you deeply, Tony. You are the big brother he has never had and he will protect you to the best of his ability, as you would do for him."

"Anthony." Ducky spoke from behind them where he stood in the open doorway of his house. "You must understand that Timothy is as upset that this horrid accident is so greatly affecting your career, as you are that he has chosen to offer his own up to IA on the matter. We are all well aware that he is being guided by his guilt and that his vision is rather narrow at the moment. We are also aware, however, that if your career takes a major hit because of this accident, Timothy will most likely never forgive himself."

"God, what a mess! Hopefully, they'll keep their focus on me." Tony worried.

"Yes, well, rest assured, young man, Jethro and Director Vance have done what they could to minimize the damage and hopefully also managed to redirect IA's attention, as you say, back onto you." Ducky replied seriously.

"Good." Tony all but growled. After a minute, he'd calmed down. "Think things will calm down after IA gets done with me?" Tony asked forlornly as if already mourning the loss of his career while finally beginning to calm down about Tim's actions.

"Do not despair young man, we can still hold out hope that all is not lost. I do believe that with the intervention of both Director Vance and Gibbs, you will come out of this with your career intact." Ducky advised as he gestured for them to go back into the house. "Come, let's all get a good night's sleep tonight."

"Yeah. Okay, Ducky." Tony offered as he headed back inside.

"Oh, and Anthony – let's keep this from landing on Timothy's plate for time being, shall we?" Ducky asked. "Save your discussion on the matter for a time when you can formulate the words without anger, hmm? "

"Yeah. I can do that." Tony promised quietly, suddenly reminded once more, of all Tim was having to get through below the surface of his physical trauma.


	15. Chapter 15

Seeing Tony return to Ducky's in a much calmer state, deflated Gibbs' urge to lose himself in the booze he hadn't been able to bring himself to ask Ducky for anyway. The Team Leader stomped down on his own inner turmoil and focused on that of his Senior Field Agent's for the moment. Silently, he watched as Tony prowled through the lower floor of Ducky's townhouse and restlessly wandered from room to room before settling down on the back porch to stare up at the moonlit night.

Quietly, he requested that Ziva take Abby home and for her to then go home and get some sleep herself. Without any further word to the Lab Rat he was still furiously angry with, he moved on to his long-time friend and advised the M.E. to go on up to bed, promising to stay for a bit until he was certain Tim would be able to sleep through the night. Reminded that Jimmy was taking the night shift for the first week of Tim's at home recovery and was currently holed up in the reading chair in Tim's room, with a book; the M.E. caved to the pressure and took himself off to bed.

Finally, the Team Leader was able to take himself out to the back porch to lend his support to his Senior Field Agent's turmoil. Sitting down in the chair next to him, Gibbs silently waited for Tony to give voice to his frustrations as he saw fit. Somehow, he sensed that the younger man wouldn't be able to hold it all inside much longer.

"Why wouldn't you want me to know?" Tony asked quietly, the hurt that the truth had been kept from him, evident in his voice.

"Got enough on ya, already, DiNozzo. Wasn't about to let anyone dump any more on top of ya." His Team Leader defended his decision

"Meaning you knew I'd be pissed about it." The younger man glanced angrily at his boss, wanting to see the truth in front of him.

"Well, yeah, DiNozzo, there's not a person on this team that didn't know that already." Gibbs defended his decision, his gaze unwavering as it held Tony's steady. "Think any of us wanted to make this harder on you?"

"Great. That's just great." Tony groused as he looked away in anger. "DiNozzo the clueless! Everyone else on the team knows something he doesn'!"

"DiNozzo! Last thing I want is for this to tear my team apart even worse with everything else going on. You really think if you'd been told, you could have kept from blowin' off on McGee about this? Any showdown between the two of you is gonna be a problem; a problem I was tryin' like hell to avoid." Gibbs chastised him.

Tony huffed out a resigned breath. "I hear ya, Boss. Guess it just hit me hard to be left out of the loop like that. It's never happened to me before – when everyone else on the team was in on it, I mean."

Gibbs smirked, in spite of the negative emotion swirling around this topic. "First time for everything, huh, Tony?"

"Funny, Boss." Tony griped.

"Expect you not to have it out with McGee about this, DiNozzo."

"I know, Boss. Ducky told me you and Vance have already done what you could to stop his insane plot from being successful."

"That what you call his attempt to help you? Not gonna win any mutual respect awards with that attitude, DiNozzo."

"C'mon, Boss! You gonna tell me you didn't think it was insane when you found out about it? You were pretty damned pissed, that's for sure! I didn't even know what was going on and I could see how pissed you were."

"Tryin' to sacrifice your career for your Senior Field Agent and teammate isn't crazy, Tony. Any more crazy than the three of us runnin' off to Somalia to avenge Ziva."

"Hmm. Like I said, Boss. Crazy."

_**Thwack**_

"Go get some sleep. I expect you to stay sharp tomorrow while you help McGee."

"I promise, Boss. I'll be ready."

"Hmm. Mmm. I know. Good night, Tony." Gibbs smirked as he got up and from his chair. "Lock up behind me."

"Right." Tony got up too and together, they checked on the still sleeping Ducky, Tim. Jimmy, too had fallen asleep as he watched over Tim. With a shared grin at that discovery, they headed to the front door.

"You need anything tomorrow, you call me." Gibbs instructed his agent with just enough softness in his tone that Tony recognized the hidden concern for what it was.

"Thanks, Boss. I'll be fine. Just have to send IA my statement and then hurry up and wait on their answer. See what dungeon they decide to banish me to." Tony quipped sardonically.

With a tilt of his head that signified his silent support, Gibbs ruffled Tony's hair and headed out, leaving Tony smiling like a little boy who'd finally gotten some long lost attention.

Locking up after Gibbs headed out, Tony found he couldn't sleep. Heading back to the laptop that had been left on the kitchen table earlier, he opened the document back up that he'd been working on for IA and read back through it carefully. Sleep never came for the young man, as the hours slipped by as he typed more in those hours than he usually did in a month on the job. By the time he was done, he felt confident that he'd explained himself as best he could. All he could do now was hope for the best. With a click of the mouse, his report was already winding its' way through cyberspace toward the very email in boxes it needed to go.

***NCIS***

Looking at his watch, he frowned. Ducky would be up needing to get ready for work soon, as would Jimmy. Tony made quick work of taking a shower in the guest bathroom that wasn't attached to a bedroom, knowing he wouldn't disturb any of them that way. Now more awake, he headed toward the kitchen, intent on at least getting the M.E.'s morning tea ready for him.

He was surprised to find Ducky already sitting at his kitchen table and already enjoying his hot beverage of choice. "Ah, good morning, Anthony. Did you sleep well?"

"Not gonna lie, Ducky. I didn't manage to sleep at all. But, I'll be fine. I promise. I won't let anything happen to McGee."

"I have every confidence in you, young man. Do not fret on the matter. Now, shall we go over what you will need to look for and do for your patient?"

"Sure, I'm all ears. Wait, is it written down somewhere so I can double check and not leave anything out, cause…"

"Relax, Tony. Of couse I have written it out for you." Ducky smiled as he rose from his chair and patted Tony on the arm. "Why don't you read through it before Mr. Palmer and I head out, that way, if you have any questions, you'll be able to ask them of me."

"Yeah. That would be good." Tony replied as he did just that.

*****NCIS*****

With Tim's need to rest and regain his strength being just as important as his ability to be as pain free as possible, Tony settled down in the reading chair in Tim's room with a book he haphazardly pulled off of one of Ducky's home office library shelves while the younger man slept on through the shift in watchman, peacefully. Tony was able to find sleep at last, falling under about the time Tim was restlessly waking up, not thirty minutes after Tony's shift had started.

Groggily opening his eyes, Tim took a few minutes to lie still and acclimate himself to his surroundings before moving too much. Noticing Tony slumbering in the chair beside the window, Tim smiled even with the oncoming onslaught of pain along with the pressing need to make it to the head in the very near future. Not wanting to disturb his teammate who seriously looked as if he needed sleep more than Tim did, the younger man found himself expressing silent thanks that he was still being kept upright in the bed, even overnight. He slowly forced himself to begin making the transition to the chair, swallowing every moan of agony and groan of pain as he moved first one leg and then the other, each one awakening the pain receptors in his brain as his breath became shorter and harsh from the exertion. Stopping to rest, his head fell to his chest as he wrestled his breathing back under control.

Only when his breathing had finally evened out, did he grab onto the bedpost with both hands and force himself to stand up. As he rose up, his chest protested sharply, the pain rippling through in waves, stealing his breath and leaving him nearly sagging to his knees. Only his desperate grip on the bed post kept him from falling out in the floor as he forced himself to move despite the agony, taking the two tiny steps he needed to so he could turn his body enough to lower himself down to the wheelchair.

As the fight to breathe through the pain took all of his energy, Tim found himself gripping the arms of the wheelchair with all his might; which wasn't very much, but thankfully it was enough to keep him from toppling over. Endless minutes passed before he found the strength and energy to even let go of wheelchair arms enough to reach for the wheels. Even that took what little energy he'd pulled together. forcing him to stop yet again to rest. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on getting his breathing back under control. Finally, he reached the point where he had no more time to spare beyond what it was going to take him to roll himself the rest of the way.

Glancing across the room at his still slumbering teammate, he frowned. He wished he could wake Tony up, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. With a deep sigh, he returned his attention to what he needed to do and then proceeded to use his feet to propel himself forward to the bathroom. Time lost all meaning as he painstakingly repeated the motions needed to reach his goal.

Exhausted, drained and fighting not to cry out from the pain that wracked his body, Tim found himself weak and trembling as he stood up, bracing himself against the sink next to the toilet as he took care of business and wasted no time in gingerly sitting back down. In no hurry to move again, Tim actually sat there unmoving as he tried rode out the trembling and the pain while he tried to regain enough energy to get moving again. Before he knew it, exhaustion claimed him, his head lolling back against the top edge of the chair, sleep taking him away right where he sat.

*****NCIS*****

Tony awoke abruptly. Something was wrong. He could feel it in his gut. Blinking to clear away his clouded vision, he did a double take when his eyes saw the empty bed where the patient should have been. _Probie!_

Something told him not to yell out for the missing man, but rather, to go silently hunt for him. With his gut in knots and his heart up in his throat, he did just that. Thankfully, he didn't have to go far, finding his friend and little brother asleep in the wheelchair where he'd obviously needed to go and hadn't been willing to wake Tony up to get. Cursing at himself and maybe even a little at his little brother's stubbornness that wouldn't allow him to wake Tony up and ask for help, Tony gently pulled the wheel chair back out of the bathroom and wheeled Tim back to the bed.

The older man knew from helping Tim get around the night before, that the new Tim McGee was light enough that he could easily lift him; which he did, setting him back on the bed, his back against the stacked up pillows once more, his head still listlessly falling to the side; the motions of being moved, not disturbing the completely worn out patient in the least. Such deep exhaustion, most likely brought on by the effort and energy it must have taken Tim to get himself out of bed and wheel himself to the bathroom, only made Tony that much angrier at himself and at Tim for not waking him up.

On top of the crap with the submitted resignation behind Tony's back, this latest stunt of Tim's was firing up Tony's ire red hot. But, he'd given the boss his word that he wouldn't say anything to the patient He'd also promised Ducky that he'd be able to handle being on day shift after a night of no sleep. _Crap! He'd fallen down on the job and he was trying to blame the patient for it. What the hell was wrong with him?_

Needing some fresh air to clear his head, Tony headed to the kitchen where he could open the window and breathe out while enjoying Ducky's backyard which the older man had cultivated into a wild animal friendly place. He'd been standing there all of five minutes when things took a turn for the worst.

"McGee had better be asleep if you're in here starin' out that window, DiNozzo."


	16. Chapter 16

Tony turned from the window, his heart up in his throat. _How could he explain this without both Gibbs and Ducky killing him; hell all of them, for that matter?_ _He'd screwed up royally; almost as royally as when his gun created this mess to begin with. Now, he couldn't even find the words with which to answer the boss._

"Not likin' your answer, DiNozzo. Start talkin'" The boss ordered as he walked to the kitchen table and noticed Ducky's handwritten instructions, along with the plastic pill organizer the M.E. had left for Tony to adhere to while taking care of the patient. Taking the time to read the note, Gibbs frowned. All of McGee's meals for the day had already been prepared and left in the refrigerator for Tony to give him when it was time. Something told Gibbs to check the status of those meals, leading him to open the refrigerator and come away with a bigger scowl on his face than the one he'd walked in with.

"DiNozzo!" he barked at the still silent, 'deer caught in headlights' looking Senior Field Agent.

Snared by that tone in the boss' voice, Tony had to look at him. "Yeah, Boss?" he asked quietly, his tone clearly paving the way for the tongue lashing he knew was coming.

The older man pointed at the table, silently ordering his second-in-command to sit down. Waiting until he'd done that, he issued his first order. "Read that while I go check on McGee. Don't move from that spot."

With his gut clenched in worry, Gibbs strode for the bedroom Ducky had set Tim up in. A quick glance at the slumbering patient showed the boss that all was definately not well with him. He already knew the meds hadn't been given like they should have been. What he didn't know was why. He also didn't know why Tim looked as though he was so exhausted he would be sleeping for a week. A sheen of perspiration covered his skin and his body language spoke of the pain coursing through it, even as he slept. With a quick check on his skin temperature and his pulse, Gibbs had his cell phone out and dialing the M.E. without even blinking an eye.

_"Hello?"_

"Duck, need you home, now."

_"Oh, dear. What...?"_

"No time. Get here. Bring Palmer with ya." Gibbs snapped his phone shut and headed to the bathroom. Finding a stack of handtowels on the towel rack, he drenched one in cold water and squeezed most of the water from it before heading back to the patient. Gently, he ran the towel across the young man's forehead and down each side of the young man's face and neck, his mind automatically recalling those nights long ago when he'd done this for Kelly when she was running a fever and needed her father to help her through the rough night.

Under the ministrations of the older man, Tim stirred, his head restlessly moving from side to side.

"Ssh. McGee. calm down." Gibbs ordered quietly as he stopped working to cool the young man off. He watched instead; waiting to see the young man open his eyes and look at him.

Blearily, Tim's eyes opened and he was quick to look around and just as quick to feel the pain his brain was now awake enough to register. As he turned his head toward the voice he'd just heard, Tim was shocked to see Gibbs there instead of Tony. With that little effort, he had no strength with which to open his mouth to speak and his breathing quickly became ragged and loud as panic began setting in.

"Relax. Ducky's on his way." The boss told him as he held his gaze, which allowed the young man to accept it as truth and forestall the panic, allowing his breathing to even back out.

"Why?" Tim managed to ask .

"Because obviously, you're having problems, McGee. Just relax. Don't try to talk, alright. Lemme get to the bottom of what happened and we'll let Ducky fix you up as best he can."

"...kay." Tim murmered sleepily as his eyes closed again.

"McGee. if Ducky says you're goin' back to the hospital, then you're goin.' Gibbs warned.

Tim's eyes opened back up, immediately locking on to those of his boss, although he still said nothing.

"Non-negotiable." the order was set in stone.

"Kay." Tim whispered as his eyes closed again.

Snapping his phone back open, Gibbs called Tony. "Bring yourself, the list, the meds and his lunch in here. Now."

Tony was quick on his feet at that order and was soon standing in front of Gibbs chastely, having set everything down on the dresser as he walked in the room.

"Get more cold towels." Gibbs ordered as he handed the one in his hand back toward Tony without even looking at him.

Tony knew better than to try to speak just yet. Gibbs was too pissed. The very fact that the Team Leader was himself trying to cool the patient off, sent the Senior Field Agent's worry through the roof. As fast as he could, Tony brought back several cold wet towels, handing one back to Gibbs and going around the other side of the bed to do what he could to help. In tension filled silence, they worked together to try to cool Tim's burning skin as the patient remained restlessly trying to find sleep, too wrung out to even think to feel embarrassed by this turn of events.

"I'm here now, Jethro. What seems to be the trouble?" Ducky asked as he walked into the room, a nervous Jimmy Palmer on his heels.

"He's burnin' up, Duck. Not too sure his pulse is right either. " The Team Leader reported as he stepped back from Tim and gave the M.E. the space he needed to check Tim over.

"Anthony, were you aware of these changes in Timothy's condition?" The M.E. asked in agitation. "You were supposed to call me if this happened, young man!"

"Talk later, Duck, patient first." Gibbs intervened with steel in his tone.

"DiNozzo, YOU start talkin'! From the time Ducky and Palmer left this morning - what happened?"

"Yes, and don't leave anything out, Anthony." Ducky ordered as he pointed Jimmy in the direction of the thermometer to take Tim's temperature while he, himself was attaching the blood pressure cuff to Tim's arm on the other side of the bed.

Tony's story was short and honest, filaying himself with every word.

"Anthony DiNozzo, I trusted you when you told me you would be able to stay awake and take good care of our patient!"

"You knew he hadn't slept any last night!" Gibbs accused Ducky.

"Yes, Jethro, I did. He assured me that he would be able to handle being Timothy's caregiver in spite of that and I believed him."

"I didn't think I would fall asleep." Tony quietly offered.

"Yes, well, be that as it may, he must be returned to the hospital at once, Jethro. He is in the midst of a raging fever, as you discovered and his wound is hot to the touch, signifying the onset of infection."

"My...ault." Tim murmured."

"Not going through this again, McGee." Gibbs growled.

Tim's eyes opened slowly, his gaze as steady as he could manage as he refused to look away from Gibbs. He needed to be heard. "had...use..head."

"Probie, you didn't wake me."

"Know." Tim murmered weakly. "You...too...ired."

"Unbelievable!" Gibbs muttered. "You're telling me that you chose not to wake Tony up?"

"...es." Tim whispered as sleep finally sucked him under.

Exchanging concerned looks with Ducky, he turned to the younger two men. "You two get him into that damned wheel chair and out to my car, now."

"I want to call ahead, Jethro. We do not need Timothy being kept in the waiting room. I want him re-admitted right away."

"Yeah." Gibbs breathed out on a pained sigh of frustration. This was the last thing any of them had wanted for McGee but there was little they could do about it now except to make sure they did what was best for him. The fact that Tim didn't even have the effort to fight it or be embarrassed or upset, spoke volumes of just how bad things had turned for him.

*****NCIS*****

An hour later found Tim McGee once more settled into a hospital bed, this time, his visitors restricted to his sister and Ducky until his infection had been brought under control. Gibbs had given Tony the job of calling Sarah and updating her, as well as the rest of the team while he, himself called Vance and gave him the bad news. After making that call, he headed to the cafeteria for a much needed cup of coffee, making sure to bring one back for Sarah, as well as a hot tea for Ducky.

Meeting up with Sarah McGee as she arrived at the hospital, Gibbs was surprised. He'd expected to find her in tears and devastated but what he discovered was that she was angry enough that lightening seemed to spark from her eyes. "What happened, Agent Gibbs?"

He offered her the drink tray, with her drink closest to her. "Thought DiNozzo would have told you. He was supposed to."

"Oh, he did. I just don't wanna believe that anything so asinine as my brother's extreme stubbornness landed him back in the hospital in worse shape than what he left it in! God, he's such an idiot!"

"Yeah, well, DiNozzo played a part in it too." Gibbs reminded her quietly, taking great pains to hide his smirk behind his coffee cup while he deliberately took a long drink of his coffee.

"Just tell me he's gonna be okay. That's all I care about." Sarah remarked, her voice finally breaking.

Wrapping one arm around her shoulder, he gently squeezed her to comfort her. "He's gonna be fine. He's just gotta do everything the docs tell him to, no matter how long they keep him this time."

"Oh, he's gonna love that." She smirked.

"Yeah, well he doesn't get that vote anymore. He screwed up and now he's payin' the price." The boss threw in there seriously.

Sarah nodded. "I'm sorry I gave you such a hard time about you thinking he was an idiot."

Gibbs smirked, a smile playing on his face as he walked with her up to her brother's room. 

***NCIS*** 

After handing Sarah Ducky's tea and watching her head into her brother's room, Gibbs returned to the waiting room to find Palmer pacing nervously. The Team Leader was quick to approach him. "Something wrong, Palmer?"

"Ah, Agent Gibbs. Uhm, yeah, actually. there is. I fell asleep last night - when it was my watch an..."

"Relax, Palmer. Already knew that. Difference between you and DiNozzo: You already got your sleep in before you took the shift. Readin' puts a lot of people to sleep. You still would have woke up the minute you heard McGee move around."

"Oh. That's true, I would have." Jimmy agreed quietly. "Thank you, Agent Gibbs."

"Go on back to work, Palmer. Ducky's gonna need to stick around here for a while. You can call him later for an update."

"Yes, Sir." Jimmy replied as he did just that, heading out and almost running into Abby and Ziva as they came in. "Sorry, had to stop and get Timmy something from the gift shop." Abby gushed as she put her hands out to keep herself from running the Assistant M.E. over.

"You'll have to give it to Sarah or Dr. Mallard to give to him unless you're willing to wait until his visitor restriction's been lifted." Palmer broke the bad news to her quietly.

"Oh, No! Are you serious? You can't be serious! No visitors? We can't sit with him or let him know we're here for him?" She protested loudly.

"Kinda his own fault, Abby." Jimmy reminded her.

"NO! Do NOT say that! It is NOT Timmy's fault he did not d..."

"What he didn't do is what he was supposed to and that's ask for help when he needed it." Gibbs finished in a near growl from behind them.

"Gibbs!" The Lab Rat protested loudly.

"Abby. McGee's not blameless here. You can go look into his room from the hallway outside of it, but he's not allowed any visitors except for his sister and Ducky."

"Jimmy has already explained this to us." Ziva finally spoke into the craziness. "McGee is going to be alright, yes?" She asked in a tone that failed to hide her worry for her friend.

"Like I told his sister. As long as he does what he's told by the docs here, he'll be fine. He's just not gonna like how long they'll be keeping him this time."

"But, when can we see him?" Abby demanded.

"Not my call, Abbs." Gibbs reasoned out. "Go tackle whatever you've got at work - so you have free time to come back when you can see him."

"You can bet on that!" Abby vowed with steel in her tone. No one was gonna keep her from seeing her Timmy! He was still her best friend and she wasn't going to let anyone change that. "I will be back!


	17. Chapter 17

The next 24 hours passed in a blur. Without anything to occupy his time, Tony found himself back at his apartment for the first time in several days - and without anything pressing to do for the first time in a week. Even sleep wasn't the slightest bit enticing now. _Sleep; yeah, the very thing that just yanked the rug out from underneath all of them in this mess. Yeah, that was the last thing he needed now.  
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Looking around almost 24 hours after leaving the hospital's waiting room when they'd been told they couldn't see Tim, he couldn't help but frown at the what he saw. When had he turned into this bachelor who only cared about the pursuit of sex and women or hanging out with frat brothers from fifteen years ago, when he wasn't at work trying to catch the thieves and murders of Navy and Marines? As his eyes took in the sight of his endless collection of movies, he couldn't help but ask himself why he never took the time to get to know his friends who happened to be his teammates? _Why was this always so much more important? Why would this even cross his mind at a time like this?_

Plopping down on his couch, Tony let his head flop back, a dull thud sounding in the air surrounding him. It had been the longest 24 hours of his life since Tim had first woke up in the hospital after being shot. Movies he hadn't seen as they flashed across his television screen, with sounds he didn't hear did nothing to ease the ache in his gut. Things were so screwed up now, he wasn't even sure the future was anywhere in sight. Almost on auto-pilot, he hit the remote on the multi-dvd player again. He hadn't been there in that spot,mindlessly surrounded on all four sides by the sights and sounds of the first movie, all of one hour when his phone rang, disturbing his trance-like fog. Quickly hitting the mute button on the television remote and then snatching his cell phone out of his pocket, he snapped it open and answered it.

"DiNozzo."

_"Is that how your answer your phone every day, Agent DiNozzo?_"

Vance's voice startled him, his posture autmatically straightening up even as he struggled to find the words to answer the older man. "Director Vanc_e."_

_"My office, 1:00, Agent DiNozzo._ Be Here." The Director ordered without wasting another moment.

"Sir? It's nearly that now." Tony reminded him somewhat meekly.

_"Then I guess you'd better put that football experience to work for you and get a move on."_ Vance blithely told him right before he hung up on him.

"Yes, Sir." Tony answered into the already dead air, as he snapped his phone shut and paced for a minute before seeming to snap out of it, snatching up his keys, wallet and badge before bolting from his apartment, nearly running down the stairs to the parking lot. He hadn't expected the short notice on the meeting, but he was glad it was finally at hand. He needed this to be over, his future decided one way or the other, so he could get on with his life; so they all could.

_***NCIS***_

"Agent Gibbs, I'm sorry they won't let you in to see my brother. I know you really want to read him the riot act and he deserves it. He needs to hear whatever it is you need to tell him." Sarah McGee offered as she held out a hot cup of coffee to the Team Leader who had refused to even consider not coming back to the hospital to wait for an update on his agent's condition.

"He sleeping?" Gibbs asked her as he nodded his head in thanks for the coffee. He wasn't about to confirm or deny her belief because while he did indeed want to read Tim the riot act for the stunt he'd pulled that landed him back here; he was also needing to see for himself that his youngest agent was indeed alright.

"Yes." She answered as she sat down beside him. "I need to get Doctor Mallard his tea, but I wanted to give you an update since I knew you had come back this morning. I've been meaning to thank you. You've been here every morning since he was re-admitted even though they won't let you see him."

"Coulda lost him on Monday. That kind of close call changes a person's perspective; the way they handle things; people. Need him to know I'm behind him."

"So then his job on your team is safe?" She worried.

"Not sure what you're asking, Sarah." He replied quietly. "Why would you wonder about his job?"

"You're not known to allow idiots on your team." She replied with a straight face.

Gibbs smirked. "Sarah. Your brother's not the first person on my team to make idiotic choices once or twice. We're all human."

"Whew." She let out her relief in a huff of air.

"How is he today?" Gibbs changed the subject just a bit to get what information he needed.

"He's doing better, Jethro." Ducky said from the doorway as he walked towards them.

Instantly, Sarah was on her feet and handing him his cup of hot tea from the cafeteria. "I'm sorry. I was on the way back to Tim's room to give this to you."

"It's quite alright, my dear." Ducky reassured her. "Quite alright. You were well overdue to stretch your legs and I do appreciate you being so kind as to bring back a refill for Agent Gibbs, here."

"Duck?" Gibbs proddsed his friend.

"As I was saying, Jethro, Timothy is doing much better. His fever is gone and the swelling and heat at the wound site are gone, as well."

"Good." The Team Leader replied."How much pain's he in today?"

"His pain level has decreased significantly now that he has taken his medications as he was supposed to and the inflammation and infection have been taken care of."

"So he can move around now?"

"They're not letting him do any moving around as of yet. But they will soon. he does seem to be sitting up and lying back down with much more ease now than before." Ducky reported.

"Good. Okay, so what's next?"

"Well, nothing new for the time being. They will continue to treat him for the infection as it is a ten day course of treatment. It is quite possible that they will lift the visitor restriction within the next 48 hours or perhaps slightly longer; once they are certain the infection has been not only contained but beaten enough that the risk to Timothy from anyone, is minimal."

"Okay. So, we wait." Gibbs reasoned out more calmly then he felt.

"Yes, my friend. I'm afraid that's what you must do."

*****NCIS*****

"Glad you could make it, Agent DiNozzo." Vance greeted Tony as he was ushered into his office by Pam a short twenty minutes after he'd gotten the older man's call.

Tony held his tongue as he glanced around the room, not surprised to find the same two agents from IA waiting there for him. Even Mr. Brown was there, apparently still acting as Tony's advocate. "Mr. Brown, I'm sure you want to confer with Agent DiNozzo before we get started." Vance allowed before anything else could be said.

"Yes, Director Vance. It should only take a few minutes."

"That's fine."

Mr. Brown turned to Tony who'd come to sit next to him at the table. "I've read your statement, Agent DiNozzo. Although I don't know why you didn't let me read it first so I could advise you on it."

"Didn't think about it. Wrote it up through the night. Sent it in when i finished it."

"Hmm. That is exactly why you should have let me see it first. Well, what's done is done. Surpisingly enough, I do believe you've made the IA Board quite happy with your willingness to admit there was plenty of room for erroneously handling of your weapon and by showing willingness to accept whatever consequences they deem appropriate."

"It's the truth. Besides my team, not to mention, the whole agency needs to be able to move past this. nightmare." Tony answered quietly.

"I agree. Alright, shall we get started?"

"Yeah." Tony replied as they both turned back to the other three men waiting for them.

*****NCIS*****

"Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs! Have you heard anything? What did IA decide about Tony?" Abby demanded of him as he walked off the elevator, carrying her caf-pow.

"Well, no, Abby. they're waiting for Tony to send them his report first." Gibbs replied offhandedly as he set her drink down on her table.

"You need to stay up with the times, Gibbs. Tony sent his report in the morning Timmy had to go back in the hospital. The Director called him an hour ago. he's upstairs as we speak, getting his future possibly dissected and maybe even nixed!" Abby was practically shouting with worry now.

Abby, Abby. Calm down. Here, drink this! Then take a break. Tony will be fine."

"But, Gibbs!"

"Abby! Enough!"

"You're still pissed at me for the laptop incident." She pouted as he headed towards the door of her lab.

"No, No I'm not." Gibbs replied calmly as he stopped and looked back to answer her. "I'm still not happy with the stunt you pulled at Ducky's."

"Gibbs! I said I was sorry!" She cried.

"Not now, Abby." The Team Leader replied as he turned back to the door and walked out

*****NCIS***  
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Tim woke groggily, yet feeling better than he had in a week. It was a startling realization to note that it had been exactly a week ago that his life had been drastically and painfully ripped apart by the bullet from Tony's gun. Before he could think on it any further, his sister was greeting him.

"Hey, Tim."

"Hey. Still here, huh?"

"Well, since they won't let your team in except for Dr. Mallard and Mom and Dad aren't coming, I'm all you've got."

"Thanks, Sis." Tim offered genuinely, his small smile trying to reach his eyes, but not quite getting there.

"Don't thank me, Timothy McGee. What you did was stupid; idiotic!" She fumed as loudly as she dared while still trying not to get thrown out of his room.

"I know, Sarah. I know." Tim agreed meekly. "I was trying to do right by Tony and..."

"And nothing, Tim! It was stupid!" She repeated as tears of frustration slid down her face. "You could have seriously compromised your recovery - fatally!"

"You've been talking to Ducky." Tim complained.

"Well, yeah, that's what happens when we're the only two allowed to see your for three days because of the infection your body's been fighting off." She replied sarcastically.

"Look, I said I was sorry." Tim lamented. "What more do you want from me?"

"Well, since you asked..." She smirked.

*****NCIS*****

Tony stood and shook hands with Mr. Brown and the agents from internal Affairs before they walked out of the Director's Office. Left alone with Vance, the Senior Field Agent's knees almost buckled from the strain he'd been under. As inconspicuously as possible, he lowered himself back into the chair he'd just been sitting in.

"Well done, Agent DiNozzo." Vance offered. "I have to hand it to you. You handled yourself like a professional, no matter hard they pushed."

"Thanks" Tony replied quietly.

"Think you can handle yourself and stay out of trouble with two more weeks of suspension?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good., See that you do. See you back here in two weeks, Agent DiNozzo." Leon remarked as he stood and made his way to the door and opened it, summarily dismissing Tony.

With a small smile Tony headed out and took the stairs down to the squad room.

"Tony. How did it go?" Ziva asked seriously.

"Two more weeks of suspension, followed up by two months probation." Tony answered quietly as he locked eyes with Gibbs, relieved that he wouldn't have to say it again.

Gibbs nodded in affirmation before he turned his attention back to his work.


	18. Chapter 18

**Epilogue**

Two weeks later, Ziva and Gibbs were sick and tired of working cold cases while Tony was tired of climbing his apartment walls enough that he'd spent a lot of his time keeping Tim company for over four hours a day since the visitation restrictions were lifted ten days ago.

Tim, meanwhile, had promised his sister that he would be the model patient and not complain even once and had kept his promise diligently. Now here he was two weeks later and Ducky was once again signing Tim's release papers and preparing to sign the young man out and into his care. This time, however, Tim was able to breathe without feeling like his chest was on fire and he wasn't scared about his death being as close as the next time he fell asleep.

While it had been a hard won battle to get Tim to stop fearing that extreme happenstance, it remained a closely guarded secret between Tim, Gibbs and Tony. Though there had been precious few conversation about it, Gibbs had been quick to pick up on the fact that Tim was still struggling with the fear and Tony had become quite in tune with Tim's need for his big brother's sympathetic ear as he worked on recovering.

Before he could contemplate things further, Ducky returned to the room with Tim's paperwork intact. "Here we are, Timothy. All set."

"Thanks, Ducky."

"No thanks needed, dear boy. However, I feel the need to reiterate the expectations both Jethro and I have of you."

"I remember, Ducky. Gibbs' words are still ringing in my head."

_"Don't you ever pull an idiotic stunt like that again!"_

_"I won't, Boss."_

_"I gave you strict instructions to ask for help when you needed it._

_Also warned you what would happen if ya didn't."_

_"I know, Boss." _

_"Under no circumstances are you allowed to put your self ar risk like that just so your teammate can sleep!" Gibbs told him sternly._

_"Won't happen again, Boss."_

_"I know." The Team Leader admitted calmly_.

"Earth to Timothy!" Ducky called out to regain the young man's attention.

Recalled back to the present, Tim blinked. "Sorry, Ducky."

"No worries, dear boy. Obviously you have a lot on your mind."

"Just remembering what Gibbs said when he was finally allowed to visit me."

"Ah, yes that was quite a tongue lashing, wasn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Jethro means well."

"I know."

*****NCIS*****

Ducky smiled as he pulled into his driveway, glancing over at his sleeping passenger. The poor boy still tired easy and would need to be pestered into taking it easy. With help from his team, the young man would be able to recover fully and know without a doubt that his team supported him completely.

Before the car was even turned off, Ducky's front door opened and the team poured out of the house to help with getting Tim out of the car and into the house. Gibbs exchanged glances with the M.E. as the two of them watched the younger generation coax their injured teammate to wake up and let them help him into the house, step by patiently slow step. The chair no longer necessary since Tim was strong enough to walk under his own cautious steam.

It wasn't long before the entire crew was ensconced in Ducky's spare bedroom, with Tony, Ziva, Abby and Jimmy all sprawled out around Tim haphazardly, the chosen movie of the night already starting up as Ducky arrived in the room with enough popcorn for all.

"Now, this is how movie nights are supposed to be!" Tony cackled as he looked around at his teammates. "We should do this more often."

"Looks like family night to me." Tim offered with a grateful smile.

Abby was quick to add her happiness to the mix. "That's what we are Timmy - a family!"

Tim smiled. "We are, aren't we?"

_~~FINIS~~_


End file.
